Quand Lea & Perrins a perdu leurs droits sur la sauce Worcestershire
ウスターソース (Usutā sōsu) Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century. The inventors went on to form the company Lea & Perrins. Worcestershire sauce has been a generic term since 1876, when the English High Court of Justice ruled that Lea & Perrins did not own a trademark for the name "Worcestershire". Worcestershire sauce is used directly as a condiment on steaks, hamburgers, and other finished dishes, and to flavour cocktails such as the Bloody Mary and Caesar. It is also frequently used to augment recipes such as Welsh rarebit, Caesar salad, Oysters Kirkpatrick, and devilled eggs. As both a background flavour and a source of umami (savoury), it is now also added to dishes that historically did not contain it, such as chili con carne, beef stew and baked beans.
Marque déposée

Bayer a perdu sa marque déposée pour l'Aspirine aux États-Unis et dans certains autres pays, suite à des actions entreprises entre 1918 et 1921, car elle n'avait pas utilisé le nom correctement pour son propre produit et avait, pendant des années, autorisé d'autres fabricants à utiliser le terme « Aspirine » sans défendre ses droits de propriété intellectuelle. Aujourd'hui, l'aspirine est une marque générique dans de nombreux pays. Aspirine, avec un "A" majuscule, reste une marque déposée de Bayer en Allemagne, au Canada, au Mexique et dans plus de 80 autres pays, pour l'acide acétylsalicylique sur tous les marchés, mais en utilisant des emballages et des aspects physiques différents pour chacun.
### Query ###
Quand Lea & Perrins a perdu leurs droits sur la sauce Worcestershire

### Main Text ###
ウスターソース (Usutā sōsu) Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century. The inventors went on to form the company Lea & Perrins. Worcestershire sauce has been a generic term since 1876, when the English High Court of Justice ruled that Lea & Perrins did not own a trademark for the name "Worcestershire". Worcestershire sauce is used directly as a condiment on steaks, hamburgers, and other finished dishes, and to flavour cocktails such as the Bloody Mary and Caesar. It is also frequently used to augment recipes such as Welsh rarebit, Caesar salad, Oysters Kirkpatrick, and devilled eggs. As both a background flavour and a source of umami (savoury), it is now also added to dishes that historically did not contain it, such as chili con carne, beef stew and baked beans.

### Supplementary Text ###
Marque déposée

Bayer a perdu sa marque déposée pour l'Aspirine aux États-Unis et dans certains autres pays, suite à des actions entreprises entre 1918 et 1921, car elle n'avait pas utilisé le nom correctement pour son propre produit et avait, pendant des années, autorisé d'autres fabricants à utiliser le terme « Aspirine » sans défendre ses droits de propriété intellectuelle. Aujourd'hui, l'aspirine est une marque générique dans de nombreux pays. Aspirine, avec un "A" majuscule, reste une marque déposée de Bayer en Allemagne, au Canada, au Mexique et dans plus de 80 autres pays, pour l'acide acétylsalicylique sur tous les marchés, mais en utilisant des emballages et des aspects physiques différents pour chacun.

### Draft ###

### 1. Query Parsing

"Quand Lea & Perrins a perdu leurs droits sur la sauce Worcestershire"
→ When did Lea & Perrins lose their rights over Worcestershire sauce?

Key semantic: "perdu leurs droits" = lost their rights. Could be trademark, patent, or legal protection generally.

? Immediate issue: Is this about trademark protection or underlying formula?

### 2. Domain Contextualization  

● Lea & Perrins: British condiment manufacturer
● Worcestershire sauce: fermented condiment, 19th century origins  
● Geographic: UK legal framework initially relevant
◐ Timeline challenge: when exactly did "rights" shift?

→ Need to distinguish between:
- Trademark disputes (name protection)  
- Patent/formula protection (manufacturing secrets)
- Genericization process (name becoming common noun)

### 3. Information Triangulation

⟨H≈0.8⟩ Worcestershire sauce... that peculiar umami bomb, fishy-tangy-beefy all at once, Victorian chemists in laboratories, fermentation vats bubbling, trade secrets locked in ledgers, legal battles over liquid gold...

! Key insight: This is likely about genericization, not IP theft.

Physical constraints:
- Sauce formula: potentially trade secret initially
- Name: "Worcestershire" = geographic + family name
- Legal: UK vs international protection frameworks

### 4. Historical Verification

Cross-referencing legal precedents:
- UK High Court decisions on condiment naming?
- Genericization patterns for food products?
- Timeline: when did "Worcestershire sauce" become generic term?

⚠ Potential bias: assuming English legal system, may need broader international framework

### 5. Evidence Assembly

● 1876: High Court of Justice ruling
● Genericization confirmed by widespread usage
◐ Exact procedural details incomplete

∴ Answer appears to be 1876, but need to verify:
- Was this trademark or genericization?  
- What specific legal mechanism?
- Broader implications for food industry IP?

### 6. Synthesis Path

Legal precedent → Genericization process → 1876 ruling → Current generic status

NB: Not about IP theft or formula protection. About name becoming generic through common usage.

Physical reality check:
- Fermented products: long production cycles
- Trade secrets: typically protect formula, not names  
- Geographic names: often lose IP protection when widely adopted

### 7. Final Verification

☐ → ☑ 1876 date confirmed
☐ → ☑ UK High Court ruling verified  
☐ → ☑ Genericization process explained
☐ → ✓ Broader implications noted

? Remaining uncertainty: exact procedural details of 1876 case
? Multilingual challenge: French query, English legal system

⟨H≈0.3⟩ The sauce itself remains valuable, of course. The loss of trademark protection doesn't diminish the product's quality or market value. Just means everyone can make "Worcestershire sauce" without attribution to the original manufacturer. Classic case of successful genericization through market dominance.

### 8. Answer Construction

Final response structure:
1. Direct answer: 1876
2. Legal mechanism: High Court ruling  
3. Process: genericization through usage
4. Current status: generic term worldwide
5. Broader context: food industry IP lessons

● High confidence on core facts
◐ Some uncertainty on procedural details
○ Limited multilingual verification

∴ 1876 ruling represents definitive loss of trademark protection through genericization, confirmed by subsequent market usage patterns.

### Answer###
Lea & Perrins ont perdu leurs droits sur le nom "Worcestershire sauce" en 1876. Cette perte de protection juridique s'est produite suite à une décision de la Haute Cour de Justice britannique, qui a statué que Lea & Perrins ne détenait pas de marque déposée pour le nom "Worcestershire".

Cette décision judiciaire a marqué un tournant important, transformant effectivement ce nom de produit en terme générique, ce qui explique pourquoi aujourd'hui la sauce Worcestershire est utilisée comme un terme générique plutôt qu'une marque spécifique à la société Lea & Perrins.