Q for Fellow Food Bloggers and Food Writers

[The Cookbook Addict]

So, here is my dilemma. I would love to post the occasional recipe from a cookbook on my blog. And I understand that the quantities in a recipe can't be copyrighted, that I can give the instructions in my own words, that posting a small portion of a larger work may be fair use, etc. etc. But, I still feel a little dirty about copying other people's recipes without their permission. It's not as if I'm coming up with a new recipe that happens to have the same ingredients or trying to concoct my own variation. I would be specifically printing the recipe in a discussion of the cookbook from which I have taken it.

Does anyone have experience asking publishers for permission to reprint recipes? How do you go about it and how long does it usually take them to respond? Any tips would be appreciated. I'm not trying to criticize other people for posting recipes, lord knows I love finding and using recipes on the internet and that it sometimes prompts me to ultimately buy the cookbook that the recipes comes from. I would just feel better if I had permission.

[K8memphis]

Sometimes they are very quick.

Sometimes they take so long I forgot why I even asked.

I just email them. One time they added on all these restrictions like had to quote thus & such and post a picture or some such stuff. Oh well, didn't use that one.

But for truly it does feel good to ask be granted permission.

[The Cookbook Addict]

Sometimes they are very quick.

Sometimes they take so long I forgot why I even asked.

I just email them. One time they added on all these restrictions like had to quote thus & such and post a picture or some such stuff. Oh well, didn't use that one.

But for truly it does feel good to ask be granted permission.

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Thanks -- do you email the author or the publisher?

[Miami Danny]

I normally don't do recipes on my blog, and when I do it's something I created myself. But rather than go to the publisher, etc., may I suggest simply adding Courtesy So-and-So adding whatever details(author, book title,publisher, date of copyright, etc.) you like, making it plain that it is not yours. If the author or publisher comes after you (highly unlikely), just take it down. In my experience, publishers never get back to you.

Edited February 16, 2008 by Miami Danny (log)

[Reaben]

Prospero's Kitchen

I believe you can use the recipe exactly as published if you attribute the source, such as author, name of publication, place published, publisher, date. And if you don't quote large amounts of material. That's copyright law as I understand it. I've used published recipes in my blog and attributed them to the source. I've had no trouble.