The graphic representation of a pizza slice can be copyright protected. This was decided by the Cologne Regional Court in a judgment dated June 9, 2022 (Case No. 14 O 283/20).
Copyright protects intellectual property. It does not need to be registered, but comes into existence with the creation of the work. However, a prerequisite for copyright protection is that the work originates from a personal intellectual creation and achieves a sufficient level of individuality and creativity, explains the commercial law firm MTR Legal, which also counts copyright among its areas of expertise.
The Cologne Regional Court regarded this level of creation as given in the graphic representation of a bitten piece of pizza. The twist was that the pizza slice was bitten not in the middle, but at the edge. In this design, the court recognized a creative concept that goes well beyond the mere naturalistically-simplified depiction of a pizza slice.
The designer of the graphic had transferred the usage rights to a company, which now saw its copyrights violated by a graphic of a pizza slice bitten at the edge appearing on pizza boxes or carrier bags for a competitor’s gastronomy, and sued for surrender.
The Cologne Regional Court followed the plaintiff’s argument. Based on the Copyright Act, the bitten pizza slice is protected as a work of applied art, as it is not a purely naturalistic depiction of a pizza slice. Rather, it is reduced to the essentials in form and color while remaining recognizable. The underlying idea of the graphic’s design is that someone was quicker than others and has already bitten into the pizza. This becomes clear as the pizza slice is bitten at the rounded edge, rather than the pointed end, according to the court. In the court’s view, a creative concept has manifested here.
With the graphic, a sign was created that, on the one hand, shows sufficient distinctiveness in terms of trademark law and, on the other hand, stands out in an original way from usual stylized depictions of the product pizza, the Cologne Regional Court further elaborated.
MTR Legal provides its clients with experienced lawyers in copyright law.
