Copyright is one of the major issues I had to consider for my final project. There are several tasty recipes I would like to include on my site. The problem is most of them come from a magazine, cookbook, or on-line source. I was worried that if I posted these recipes to my site I would be violating copyright.
I consulted the U.S. Copyright Office's website, which stated, "Mere listings of ingredients as in recipes, formulas, compounds, or prescriptions are not subject to copyright protection. However, when 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."
If I understand this correctly, I can use the list of items that are provided in the various cookbooks and magazines, but the actual description of how they are mixed together and baked will be in my own words. I will also be sure to state what source the recipe has been adapted from. Hopefully this will ensure I am operating within the confines of copyright law.
Oh copyright laws! Isn't it nice how the U.S. Copyright Office is so vague on it's own definitions, like it's also afraid of being sued?
ReplyDeleteI suspect you'll be OK if you don't copy the directions word for word. Besides, if you have a chance to try out the recipes, it might be fun to tell us about modifications you did to the originals. This would (probably?) ensure that what you were doing was original enough not to be at risk for infringement.