I don't think it is possible to love Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, more than I do. I love her recipes: they are relatively easy to execute, delicious (no surprise, since they tend to double down on butter), and leave guests with the impression that my culinary skills are stronger than an honest appraisal would support. I love the rapport she shares with her husband Jeffrey, especially the way she beams at him each and every time he tells her (as he often does) that the food she has prepared is the "most delicious" thing he has ever tasted. I love how her zen calm remains intact even when celebrities passing through East Hampton (like Neal Patrick Harris or Mel Brooks) casually stop by to learn how to truss a chicken. And I love how she insists on using only "good" vanilla extract, avoids cilantro at all costs, and reassures you that whatever you are making "doesn't have to be perfect" (even though hers always is). Nearly twenty years of watching her TV show has left me with the unshakable impression (fantasy?) that, were we to meet in the real world, she would immediately welcome me into her extensive circle. (Move over, Michael the florist!)
But not even Ina bats 1000. The one time I made Ina's recipe for homemade white chocolate bark, I thought it was good. Very good. But, at least for me, the peppermint bark you can buy from Williams-Sonoma during the holidays is the ideal against which all other candy bark is measured. It represents the rare instance (forgive me, Ina!) when homemade just can't measure up to store-bought. This post is about that famous bark, or, more accurately, about a decision issued last week by Magistrate Judge Tse (in the Northern District of California) that addressed whether the unauthorized publication on amazon.com of an "artistically-staged" photograph of that glorious confection infringed upon Williams-Sonoma's copyright. Here is the photo (courtesy of the court's decision) of the image in question:
This copyright issue came up in the middle of a trademark case filed by Williams-Sonoma against Amazon, in which Williams-Sonoma alleges (among other things) that the unauthorized use of its trademarks in connection with the resale of its products on amazon.com by third party sellers infringes upon its trademarks. Last year, after the court denied Amazon's motion dismiss the complaint, the parties proceeded to discovery.
Sometimes in discovery, you discover stuff. That's what happened here. Williams-Sonoma had been...
