What are the rules for internet content?

[thecuriousone]

Hi All--

I was approached by a group that I work with to submit a monthly cooking and recipe column. I would love to do it, and they inferred that if the column was well received, it might morph into a blog.

My question is this: They are asking for 1-2 of my favorite recipes per month. Well, that is no problem, but the issue is that my favorite recipes usually come out of my favorite cookbooks. I'm talking about very general things, hummus for example, I've seen several recipes that I have take an ingredient from to come up with my own favorite, do I have to be concerned that my recipie looks too much like someone' existing published one? Can I use a disclaimer, "This is what I use.."

Is there a book that goes over these issues and gives some guidelines to what is considered, "Stepping over the line"??

I would appreciate any comments or suggestions. I think I would really enjoy this, but want to make sure I understand all the implications before I get into it.

[Pam R]

Hi thecuriousone,

I'd start by taking a look at the guidelines that we use here for posting recipes in RecipeGullet (click).

Basically, a list of ingredients is not copyrightable. It's the instructions and descriptions that are copyrighted -- but you should read through all of those guidelines.

[Dave the Cook]

Further to what Pam says, here's what the US Copyright Office has written:

Mere listings of ingredients as in recipes, formulas, compounds or prescriptions are not subject to copyright protection. 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 combination of recipes, as in a cookbook, there may be a basis for copyright protection.

Source: FL-122, Revised July 2006