Guidelines for Posting Recipes

[Guest guest]

The subject of recipe copyright is near and dear to my heart.  I've had recipes copied verbatim and posted on other people's websites without attribution, and recipes published in national newspaper columns with attribution but without permission and without prior notice (so that I could find a copy to keep for my scrapbook).  The copyright laws surrounding recipes are much less black and white than the laws involving photography, so most of the time when a recipe of mine is posted on another site, I have no recourse, except to write and ask that a link back to my original recipe be posted.  (Having multiple instances of the same recipe on the internet devalues the recipe's " page rank, " the rating system that Google uses to determine how high it appears in search results.  Many cookbook writers today make much of their living not through the sale of books but through advertising on their websites, so taking away Google traffic takes away part of their income.)

I really should have come up with some guidelines for posting recipes before, but for some reason, it never occurred to me.  For one thing, this is a closed group, and recipes posted here are not available to non-members so relatively few people see them.  For another, the category of " Fat-free Vegan Recipes " is so specialized that I didn't anticipate people being able to find many published recipes that fit our rules.  Most recipes in most cookbooks and websites will need some adaptation to be fat-free and vegan, and once you start adapting, you're not violating the copyright as long as when you put the recipe into your own words. What you can't do is copy any " substantial literary expression " found in the recipe, which may include headnotes (those chatty comments just before a recipe), the author's stories about how and why a recipe was created, and original, humorous, or unique description within a recipe.  Methods, ingredients, techniques, and ideas are not protected: you can come up with a great new way to prepare seitan, but you can't copyright the technique, just the funny story about how you discovered it. 

I feel strongly that authors of recipes should always be credited and, when possible, asked for permission before their recipes are posted.  So I've come up with a few guidelines that we should try to follow.  (In making these, I looked at several recipe sites to see what guidelines they used.)

1.  If the recipe is on the internet, simply provide a link to it--don't copy and paste the recipe here. Many recipes are already on the web, so try googling the name to see if you can find it.2.  If it's not on the web, you can post the ingredient list but write the directions in your own words.  Don't copy verbatim unless you have the permission of the author.  Remember to include the author's name and the name of the book, if available, as well as a link the the author's website (most authors have them now; consult Google).

3. Often converting a recipe to be both fat-free and vegan will result in a mostly-new creation.  If you've changed a recipe so significantly that you believe it now constitutes a new recipe, note that in your post but acknowledge the source of your inspiration.  If that inspiration is on a website or blog, please provide a link to the original so that others may find it.

4.  If a recipe is yours, say so.  After all, you deserve credit, too.  And besides, it makes it easier for us to talk about it ( " Anne C's Black Bean Crepes " is a lot better than " those black bean wrap-things that someone posted. " ) 

In all cases, give credit (and a link) where it is due.  For more information and links to websites about this issue (as well as to see this issue from a cookbook writer's perspective), see http://foodblogalliance.com/2009/04/recipe-attribution.php

If you're unsure about how or whether to post a specific recipe, feel free to write to me off-list. Actually, if you have any concerns about the list--problems with something someone has posted, questions about whether something is appropriate--I prefer that you write to me or Sue (sue_in_nj) rather than post about it here.  Let's try to keep this group posting recipes, not talking about posting recipes.

Susan

-------------------------Susan VoisinFatFree Vegan Kitchenhttp://blog.fatfreevegan.comhttp://www.facebook.com/FatFreeVegan

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[Guest guest]

Thanks for the guidelines, Susan.

 

I absolutely love this forum and others like it that share recipes. But reality

is that it only takes one author or publisher who complains about copyright

infringement, and then pursues legal action and one's reputation and bank

account is forever altered.

 

I'm so glad you are encouraging us to seek permission from authors/publishers

before using copyrighted recipes (unless it is substantially altered and

unrecognizable from the original author's work including even words strung

together in recognizable phrases used by the original author).

 

Seeking permission from the author/publisher is always the best course of action

and then, if permission is not granted or one is unable to acquire it? Don't

publish it...anywhere. It belongs to the author and legally I am not free to

publish her copyrighted recipes any more than I am free to go into my neighbors'

house down the street and help myself to whatever they have without their

knowledge or permission.

 

I too have a media background (daily newspapers, magazines, public relations)

and I know many authors and publishers are constantly on the prowl watching for

those who dare to pirate their copyrighted material and use it as their own

bypassing written permission and/or compensation.

 

Yes, taking a person to court over a pirated, copyrighted recipe might seem a

bit extreme to us, but I'd bet on it that it has been and is being done. And so

for myself, I would never publish a copyrighted recipe or any other copyrighted

work on a forum or on the Internet or elsewhere without prior written permission

from the author/publisher. It's just too risky. Copyright laws exist to protect

the authors and publishers of copyrighted works. For me, it's a matter of

respect for what belongs to others and for the rule of law.

 

Sincerely,

Judy in Ohio

[Guest guest]

Well said. I have to teach my students about plagiarism/copyright law every year (from a musical angle) and I think that you said it better than I ever could! jdg682 <jdg682 Sent: Tuesday, September 8, 2009

4:41:05 PM Re: Guidelines for Posting Recipes

 

 

Thanks for the guidelines, Susan.

 

I absolutely love this forum and others like it that share recipes. But reality is that it only takes one author or publisher who complains about copyright infringement, and then pursues legal action and one's reputation and bank account is forever altered.

 

I'm so glad you are encouraging us to seek permission from authors/publishers before using copyrighted recipes (unless it is substantially altered and unrecognizable from the original author's work including even words strung together in recognizable phrases used by the original author).

 

Seeking permission from the author/publisher is always the best course of action and then, if permission is not granted or one is unable to acquire it? Don't publish it...anywhere. It belongs to the author and legally I am not free to publish her copyrighted recipes any more than I am free to go into my neighbors' house down the street and help myself to whatever they have without their knowledge or permission.

 

I too have a media background (daily newspapers, magazines, public relations) and I know many authors and publishers are constantly on the prowl watching for those who dare to pirate their copyrighted material and use it as their own bypassing written permission and/or compensation.

 

Yes, taking a person to court over a pirated, copyrighted recipe might seem a bit extreme to us, but I'd bet on it that it has been and is being done. And so for myself, I would never publish a copyrighted recipe or any other copyrighted work on a forum or on the Internet or elsewhere without prior written permission from the author/publisher. It's just too risky. Copyright laws exist to protect the authors and publishers of copyrighted works. For me, it's a matter of respect for what belongs to others and for the rule of law.

 

Sincerely,

Judy in Ohio