Thats a very good question Pepper and one that we hear all the time. The quick answer is YES all recipes are welcome! If you think about it, Recipes were made to be shared. They are passed from generation to generation, mother to daughter or even friend to friend. You may post any recipe you wish into our database but give credit where credit is due. If you go through our site you will notice that many recipes have come from other recipe sites on the internet. In fact, many have a hot-link back to the site that they came from, making it easy for you to see more recipes from that particular site. The same is true if you wish to use recipes from the NetCooks.com site. You can recipes as many recipes as you wish for your own private use. You may share the recipes with your friends and family. You may even post a recipe or two from NetCooks.com onto your own website (A reference that the recipe came from NetCooks.com or a hot-link back to us would be greatly appreciated!)
I dug this up on the net at the California BBQ Association Website and I believe it is the best explanation of copyrighting recipes I have ever seen. Go check out the site at:
http://www.cbbqa.com// Click on notes for more info on everything from copyright to Onions without tears!
Tom
NetCooks.com
A recipe cannot be copyrighted! Period.
The textual descriptions that may be in a recipe, if they are creative and original, may be protected by copyright. Similarly, any accompanying photographs and illustrations are protected by copyright. But the recipe itself cannot be protected by copyright.
Section 102 of the Copyright Act provides that
Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship . . . . In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work. Act ยง 102.
The courts have held uniformly that this provision means that the literary expression of a recipe but not the recipe itself can be copyrighted.
The Copyright Office itself maintains a FAQ which includes:
29. How do I protect my recipe?
[Answer] A mere listing of ingredients is not protected under copyright law. However, where a recipe or formula is accompanied by substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions, or when there is a collection of recipes as in a cookbook, there may be a basis for copyright protection. See FL 122.
"FL 122" refers to a "Form Letter". The Office often receives inquiries and requests for information on the copyright of recipes, so the office developed a form letter, which is available online.
Here's an example:
Suppose that a recipe is in the normal format -- 2 teaspoons of this, 3 tablespoons of that, diced, simmer for 5 minutes, etc. This kind of recipe cannot be protected by copyright.
Now compare a paragraph from Smoky Hale's book, The Great American Barbecue & Grilling Manual. Smoky's recipe for a fine grilled steak, in the section entitled "In Pursuit of the Perfect Steak" (page 75 ff), does not give the direction to turn the steak when it no longer sticks to the grill. Instead, Smoky writes:
"Allow the meat grate to heat up. When the grill is right, wipe the steaks dry and place the steaks carefully and firmly upon the grill. Then leave them alone! Do not touch them, talk to them or worry them in any way! Steaks know when they need to be turned and will show you -- if you let them. When a ready steak meets the heated grill, they seize each other with the intensity of newlyweds. At the proper time, they will turn loose. Flip them over with a spatula, not a fork. They will grab again. When they turn loose the second time, the honeymoon is over and it's time to get on with business." Id at 79.
"When a ready steak meets the heated grill, they seize each other with the intensity of newlyweds." This certainly qualifies as an original literary expression! Smoky's text is protected by copyright.
Again, a recipe (meaning the cooking ingredients, measurements and directions) may not be protected by copyright. However, an original literary expression within the recipe may be protected.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
pepper
