EVEN A WINE GUIDE IS A CREATIVE WORK.

"Significant" similarities exist between the guide published by Bibenda Editore—formerly "Duemilavini," now "Bibenda"—and the AIS's "Vitae," both in terms of the physical format and the descriptive entries for company and product information, and "strong similarities in the sequence of topics." These are the words found in the ruling issued by the judges of the IX Civil Section of the Court of Rome, concluding the first-instance trial regarding the plagiarism complaint filed by Bibenda Editore against AIS, following the termination of the collaboration between Bibenda and AIS in 2015.

Immediately after the termination of the relationship that had seen AIS purchase the Bibenda guide for years to distribute to its members, the Association published its own guide, titled "Vitae." However, the authors of "Bibenda" found it too similar, in many respects, to the guide they had created according to very specific editorial criteria. These criteria, according to the ruling, are sufficiently similar to those adopted by AIS for "Vitae" to justify its conviction: the Court granted Bibenda Editore's requests and prohibited the publication of future editions of "Vitae" unless these similarities were substantially eliminated. AIS was also ordered to pay damages (yet to be quantified) to Bibenda Editore.

According to the Court's ruling, "an examination of the guide published by the defendant (ais) highlights significant similarities with the Bibenda guide in relation to the size of the volume, the material used for the cover, the binding and the typefaces used, and the format.

Further significant similarities can be found in the company descriptions: in both guides, the data relating to the company name, address, website are found in the same sequence and within an identical structural context and according to a common graphic presentation. internet , email address, year of foundation, ownership, bottles produced, hectares of vineyards, direct sales, company visits, introductory article, wine name, type, grapes, alcohol content, price, bottles produced, tasting, winemaking, and pairing.

It is also common to rate products with symbols placed on the right side of the pages.

As already noted, the two guides present strong elements of assonance in the sequence of the topics (…)”.

Based on these arguments, the Court upheld Bibenda Editore's claims and prohibited the Italian Sommelier Association from publishing the Vitae guide in future years, unless it makes any adjustments that substantially differentiate it from the Bibenda guide.