The AG Opinion in Levola Hengelo: more questions than answers?
As announced earlier today, this morning Advocate General (AG) Wathelet issued his Opinion [not yet available in English] in Levola Hengelo , C-310/17 . He advised the Court of Justice of the European Union to rule that the taste of a cheese - Dutch spreadable cheese Heks’nkaas (for which a patent was registered in 2012 and a word trade mark is registered) - is not eligible for copyright protection as a 'work' under the InfoSoc Directive . While the outcome of the Opinion may be sensible, its content raises a number of issues and, potentially, problems. But, first, let's see how the AG reasoned. Concept of 'work' At the outset, the AG tackled what is to be intended as 'work' under the InfoSoc Directive, this being a notion that this piece of EU legislation does not define. Despite this, 'work' should be regarded as an autonomous concept of EU law ...