At what point can you claim a recipe as 'Your Own'?

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You were on such a roll there! ;) But again, a person owns the copyright to their work the moment they create it, not when they seek to publish it. And having something published does not necessarily mean that all copyright rights are transferred as well. It could be one-time rights in North America, worldwide rights in perpetuity, etc. There are a variety of ways to structure copyrights when they're sold or licensed.

You might want to read up on copyright law some more before making statements about it.
I was going to comment on that, but you beat me to it. ;)

My ex was a writer. When he sold stories or articles to magazines, he usually sold "FNASR" (First North American Serial Rights).

He wrote a weekly column for The Montreal Gazette. The freelancers actually threatened to go on strike because the newspaper wanted to put their stuff on the internet without paying them extra for that. They hadn't sold "electronic rights".

Here's an article about writer's rights, but it applies to other arts as well: Rights: What They Mean and Why They're Important

Addie, you may be thinking of contests. It's a slimey trick that some magazines do. In the fine print of the contest rules, they often write that anything submitted becomes the property of the magazine or newspaper. They may even specify that they get "all rights".
 
Addie, you may be thinking of contests. It's a slimey trick that some magazines do. In the fine print of the contest rules, they often write that anything submitted becomes the property of the magazine or newspaper. They may even specify that they get "all rights".

This the problem with many photography contests. An amateur photographer submits a photo that is good enough to win a prize, but now it's no longer his photograph. I've been on the verge of entering a couple of times, then decided not to after reading that I would forfeit my rights to use the image myself.
 
Addie, you may be thinking of contests. It's a slimey trick that some magazines do. In the fine print of the contest rules, they often write that anything submitted becomes the property of the magazine or newspaper. They may even specify that they get "all rights".


I think that most contests are like that. I've entered a lot of them and don't remember one where whomever was running the contest didn't make it clear that once I submitted my work it was their property.

You also quite commonly give up your rights when you post on websites.

From Allrecipes:

"By submitting, disclosing, or offering any recipe, review, photograph, image, video, “favorites” list, comments, feedback, postcards, suggestions, ideas, notes, drawings, concepts, and other information, content or material, or other item (each, a “Submitted Item”) to Allrecipes, either online or offline and whether or not solicited by Allrecipes, you hereby grant to Allrecipes an irrevocable, nonexclusive, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free right and license to use, display, publicly perform, modify, reproduce, publish, distribute, make derivative works of, sublicense, and otherwise commercially and non-commercially exploit your Submitted Items and all copyright, trade secret, trademark, or other intellectual property rights therein, in any manner or medium now existing or hereafter developed (including but not limited to print, film, or electronic storage devices), and the exclusive right to use, display, publicly perform, modify, reproduce, publish, distribute, make derivative works of, sublicense, and otherwise exploit all such materials on commercial websites, without compensation of any kind to you or any third party."
 
Even when you post here at Discuss Cooking you grant them the rights to your posts. Just not as strongly and broadly written as most.

"By posting content on the Websites, you also grant, and warrant that you have the authority to grant, the Company a limited license to display, reproduce, modify, and use any text, image, video, music, or any other content that you post on the Websites."
 
Even when you post here at Discuss Cooking you grant them the rights to your posts. Just not as strongly and broadly written as most.

"By posting content on the Websites, you also grant, and warrant that you have the authority to grant, the Company a limited license to display, reproduce, modify, and use any text, image, video, music, or any other content that you post on the Websites."
Well, if they didn't ask for that, they would be in violation of your copyright. I think it's a very reasonable amount of rights that DC asks for.
 
As a jewelry design and polymer clay artist, I've had the misfortune of someone copying my work. They didn't understand that my work held an intellectual copyright and blatantly copied my ideas and work.

I had quit selling in a craft mall after that, as the "copier/thief" would have an exact replica of my own within 1 week and underpriced the items. She made many more sales than mine, and when an item of hers broke the customer came to me asking for a refund... :ohmy: Needless to say, I quit selling at that place and within 4 months it closed permanently because of that.

Copycats are a big problem in any artistic industry, especially in cooking and crafts. It is a sad thing. I mostly do custom work now and I don't get copied much anymore.

That reminds me, I have a project I need to get working on as a door prize for a Halloween party. Yup, they sometimes take that long to conceptualize and create.

Anyone taking another's work and claiming it as their own needs to learn to create something on their own. It is fine to take ideas and better them. For some it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission, I guess.
 
OK...do I understand this right? If I post my own original recipe here, it now belongs to DC, not to me? I can't go post my same recipe anywhere else because I've violated copyright laws for my own recipe? Gahhhh :wacko:
 
OK...do I understand this right? If I post my own original recipe here, it now belongs to DC, not to me? I can't go post my same recipe anywhere else because I've violated copyright laws for my own recipe? Gahhhh :wacko:
No. You have only given them the right to use it. If you didn't, then your post wouldn't be allowed here.

If you post it on Allrecipes, then what you wrote applies.
 
Actually, you can copyright ideas. I have an idea for a story I want to write. I send those notes to myself, make sure the envelope is date stamped at the post office to show the date I mailed the envelope. When it arrives, I put it in my safe deposit box, unopened.


If you want to share something that is protected by copyright law on the Internet, a link to the copyright holder's web site is the best way to do so. Just because it is on the Internet does not mean the copyright holder has given up his/her ownership. Be respectful.
 
Actually, you can copyright ideas. I have an idea for a story I want to write. I send those notes to myself, make sure the envelope is date stamped at the post office to show the date I mailed the envelope. When it arrives, I put it in my safe deposit box, unopened.
...
Sorry, you can't copyright or patent an idea. What you are doing might be useful if it ever goes to court.

Copyright Rules: Can You Copyright an Idea?
 
No. You have only given them the right to use it. If you didn't, then your post wouldn't be allowed here.

If you post it on Allrecipes, then what you wrote applies.

You know that for a fact Taxi?

Sooooooo, if DC only has the right to use my original recipe and I repost it at Allrecipes, how can I be liable for posting my own recipe somewhere else?
 
Even when you post here at Discuss Cooking you grant them the rights to your posts. Just not as strongly and broadly written as most.

"By posting content on the Websites, you also grant, and warrant that you have the authority to grant, the Company a limited license to display, reproduce, modify, and use any text, image, video, music, or any other content that you post on the Websites."

You know that for a fact Taxi?

Sooooooo, if DC only has the right to use my original recipe and I repost it at Allrecipes, how can I be liable for posting my own recipe somewhere else?
That's what jennyemma's quote seems to say. But note, it does say "limited license".

OTH, the Allrecipes thing is onerous and I don't know how they enforce it.
 
Artist Richard Lewis is selling other peoples' Instagram photos for $100,000 each in New York - Business Insider


Here is an interesting read. Not sure if it applies to recipes, but still interesting. Some artist used other peoples pictures ( from instagram) without their permission. Transferred them to canvas, displayed them in an art gallery in NYC, and is getting up to $100,000 for each one.

"The minor changes Prince adds to each original Instagram photo help each work to meet the requiements of fair use. (To take a different example, when an author quotes another author in their book, they don't have to ask for permission because the excerpts are essentially source material). Similarly, parody is generally protected from claims of copyright infringement under US law.

The scenario is a good example of the new legal issues that "remix culture" have created. The internet is awash with altered, reposted, and aggregated content taken from other sources, frequently without permission. It has produced a huge wave of creativity — but also raises thorny questions about attribution and ownership. Sometimes the transformative fair use is clear, while at other times the "remixing" seems little more than theft."

larry
 
Artist Richard Lewis is selling other peoples' Instagram photos for $100,000 each in New York - Business Insider

Here is an interesting read. Not sure if it applies to recipes, but still interesting. Some artist used other peoples pictures ( from instagram) without their permission. Transferred them to canvas, displayed them in an art gallery in NYC, and is getting up to $100,000 for each one.

"The minor changes Prince adds to each original Instagram photo help each work to meet the requiements of fair use. (To take a different example, when an author quotes another author in their book, they don't have to ask for permission because the excerpts are essentially source material). Similarly, parody is generally protected from claims of copyright infringement under US law.

The scenario is a good example of the new legal issues that "remix culture" have created. The internet is awash with altered, reposted, and aggregated content taken from other sources, frequently without permission. It has produced a huge wave of creativity — but also raises thorny questions about attribution and ownership. Sometimes the transformative fair use is clear, while at other times the "remixing" seems little more than theft."

larry

Copyright law applies to all creations, so this applies, too. The Internet has made copyright an issue for people who generally had no knowledge of it, or need to know about it, in pre-Internet days. Before the Internet, it was costly and time-consuming to redistribute someone else's work, but copy-and-paste is so easy, people think it must be okay.

For most of the time that I managed a large website, I was the gatekeeper for preventing people from posting copyrighted material, because I received, edited and posted everything. The director of security actually submitted copied-and-pasted pages from another school's security department website, just changing identifying details. :ermm: Sorry, dude, can't do that.
 
Hey Larry,

Great question, and it's one that often sparks discussions among food enthusiasts and creators. The concept of ownership in recipes is a bit nuanced. While I'm not a legal expert, I can offer some general perspectives.

Recipes, in general, aren't typically protected by copyright law. The expression of the recipe (the specific way it's written down, including any accompanying text or images) can be protected, but the idea behind the recipe usually can't be. This means that you can't copyright a list of ingredients or basic instructions.
 
Hey Larry,

Great question, and it's one that often sparks discussions among food enthusiasts and creators. The concept of ownership in recipes is a bit nuanced. While I'm not a legal expert, I can offer some general perspectives.

Recipes, in general, aren't typically protected by copyright law. The expression of the recipe (the specific way it's written down, including any accompanying text or images) can be protected, but the idea behind the recipe usually can't be. This means that you can't copyright a list of ingredients or basic instructions.
The wording of the instructions is, apparently, covered by copyright. But, if you write the instructions in your own wording, that is still legal.

BTW, that has been mentioned quite a few times in this thread. It's an interesting thread to read from the beginning. You should do that.
 
Hey Larry,

Great question, and it's one that often sparks discussions among food enthusiasts and creators. The concept of ownership in recipes is a bit nuanced. While I'm not a legal expert, I can offer some general perspectives.

Recipes, in general, aren't typically protected by copyright law. The expression of the recipe (the specific way it's written down, including any accompanying text or images) can be protected, but the idea behind the recipe usually can't be. This means that you can't copyright a list of ingredients or basic instructions.
Ideas can never be copyrighted
 
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