Unlike Roquefort cheese, Champagne from Champagne, Dijon mustard, and dozens of other regional delicacies and specialties, Bavarian Obazda (also known as Obatzter, Angebatzter,
Gerupfter in Franconia or as
Gmanschter in Switzerland) was not awarded the proprietary protections of a geographical viticulture designation by the German courts. This spicy cheese spread is certainly unique and a signature Brotzeit dish--however, I like the fact that it was also ruled that it cannot be copyrighted. Too many things are overly-litigious as it is, without affording food and drink a court-appointed attorney and though imitators will be opportunists, distinction and quality are usually self-regulating.
Tradition, like the
Reinheitsgebot (legally enforceable) and secrecy, as with the German chemists and dye-makers or Venetian mirror-makers or authentic
charter house Chartreuse, whose blend of herbs is only known to two monks, forms a process with checks and balances, rather than monopolization--renown is not exclusivity, and a better model than relying on trolling and cartels. Family recipes, handed down, though there is a shift to jealously guard collections once shared under a
gettization scheme, creation and experimentation should not be hindered by the letter of the law when it usual fails to keep the plaintiff undiluted in the first place.
Tradition, like the Reinheitsgebot (legally enforceable) and secrecy, as with the German chemists and dye-makers or Venetian mirror-makers or authentic charter house Chartreuse, whose blend of herbs is only known to two monks, forms a process with checks and balances, rather than monopolization--renown is not exclusivity, and a better model than relying on trolling and cartels. Family recipes, handed down, though there is a shift to jealously guard collections once shared under a gettization scheme, creation and experimentation should not be hindered by the letter of the law when it usual fails to keep the plaintiff undiluted in the first place.
