Re: Copyright of recipes

I have a very hard time seeing how a recipe can be copyrighted, except with respect to such thin copyright as to make one ask why bother? Copyright does not extend to formulas, processes, and methods. Doesn't this cover the recipes?

I can easily see the copyright in a compilation of recipes (but that doesn't protect the particular recipes.)

If one used a great deal of creative license in the recipe - "boil the water" wouldn't seem to be enough, but perhaps "heat the water until it is a riot of steam and bubbles" probably would - then one could get a thin, thin copyright not in the recipe per se, but in the particular expression of it. Someone else could reproduce the same exact recipe, ingredient for ingredient, step by step preparation, but just change some of the words - and not too many at that - unless the recipes have an unusual amount of unusual expressions in them. There really are just so many ways to say " boil the water" or "brown the meat over low heat" or "simmer until the stock thickens" or "sautee the onions until clear" or whatever.

Since I seem to expect a somewhat higher level of originality or creativity than some on this list, could someone post a recipe and explain what would be protectable expression and what not? Or am I off base in treating a formula for cooking as a formula or process?

Cheers,
Steven D. Jamar
Assoc. Prof. & Dir. LRW Program
Howard University School of Law
sjamar[_at_]law.howard.edu or sjamar[_at_]aol.com

"Those who say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are busy doing it." Chinese Proverb Received on Tue Apr 23 1996 - 22:38:54 GMT