Smells as Cultural Heritage

The article examines the existing forms of legal protection of olfactory heritage in international law and in national legal systems, regulating the protection of individual classes of cultural objects as holders of national identity and cultural heritage. The author suggests to divide protective norms into three classes: general, indirect ("package") and formulaic (technological). He examines key international conventions, framework agreements and protocols, as well as national legal norms that have a direct or indirect relation to odors as an integral part of the world, national and regional cultural heritage. Among the issues, analyzed in the article in the sphere of protective norms of conventions on tangible and intangible heritage, is the issue of materiality/immateri- ality of odors, as well as the issues of the potential of such forms of protection as the intellectual property and trademark protection, and a wide range of methods and forms of odor protection both at the international and at the national and regional levels. The effect of legal measures to protect aromas is illustrated by the cases of protecting the character and quality of wines and cheeses, whose aroma profiles are considered as their essential characteristics