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Blogging Recipes: Fun or Foul?
03 Feb 2012 by Tova Greenbaum in Fordham University School of Law, Law School Marketing, Law School to Law Firm / 2 Comments
Thanks to the Internet, sharing information has become easier and more prevalent than ever. Tasks that previously required hours or days instead take a few seconds or minutes. However, as Peter Parker’s great-uncle said, “with great power comes great responsibility”. The Internet is a powerful tool, but it makes the law vulnerable. Copyright issues fall by the wayside as people post movies, shows and … recipes online. While the former categories are beginning to be addressed in Congress, recipes fly under the radar.
Generally, recipes are unprotected under the Copyright Act. They tend to be lists of ingredients or methods, sets of directions. However, recipes are not per se vulnerable. When an author includes anecdotes, special tips, or some expression, the recipe may be copyrightable. So what happens when bloggers post their favorite recipes, copied from well-worn cookbooks? It depends. If the blogger includes something unique to the recipe, he or she may be headed for trouble.
Additionally, just because recipes may not be covered under copyright law does not mean they are openly available. Trade secrets and patents are also relevant when deciding to poach and share a recipe. Consider the tale surrounding the Waldorf-Astoria Red Velvet Cake, where someone supposedly disseminated the recipe for the hotel’s trademark cake after receiving an exorbitant bill. The likely false story masks a very real idea – secrets may not be as safe as hoped. When deciding to divulge something, make sure not to violate the law, like giving away a trade secret protected recipe.
Ideally, one should change the recipe, or add unique tips. Though the recipes need not be identical to still fail under an infringement claim, the further from the original recipe and its representation a blogger gets, the closer to safety he or she is.
About the Author: Tova Greenbaum
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2 Comments
LDC
Great post on a very interesting topic. I’d be interested to see more posts about this!
Keep up the good work
23 Apr 2012 01:04 pm (@Twitter)
Anonymous
Interesting article on an interesting topic. I especially like the reference to Peter Parker and hiss great-uncle Ben.
23 Apr 2012 03:04 pm (@Twitter)
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