Introduction

The question of copyrighting recipes has not been firmly decided by the courts. Certainly, publishers seek copyright protection for books on cooking, as they do on any other subject, and they have often gone after other publishers or individuals whom they feel have infringed on their rights in a published cookbook. How much copyright law protects recipes within such books is a matter of some dispute. That is because a recipe is distinct from the typical sorts of writing and expression the copyright law has historically protected. Whether a given author's recipes are protected by copyright will typically depend on the facts of each case. Facts that are of particular importance are the manner in which the author has presented the recipe and the other information included with it.

Recipes as Creative Works

Cooking is a skill and an art, which, practiced well, makes life more enjoyable. Although technique is important with some dishes, in many cases a recipe alone is sufficient to allow a skilled cook to prepare almost any dish. Because delicious foods are in demand, persons with good recipes may well consider publishing these in hopes of profiting from their talents. But cooks with a knack to take up pen or keyboard must beware. The protections available to recipes under copyright law are limited at best.

Copyright law protects original, creative expressions fixed in a tangible medium. These standards are not especially high. A run-of-the-mill story with stereotypical characters and a predictable ending will probably be creative and original enough, as long as it isn't copied or derived from an existing work. And the requirement that the expression be fixed in a tangible medium applies to electronic copies and even data stored in computer random access memory (RAM), which disappears once the computer is switched off. Courts are inclined to hold, however, that an individual recipe lacks sufficient creativity to qualify for copyright. Under this view, a recipe is really a process for creating some edible product, and not a creative expression of the sort copyright law is designed to protect.