Recipe Packages Online?

Business By rbymac Updated 21 May 2012 , 5:11pm by scp1127

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rbymac Posted 16 May 2012 , 5:57pm
post #1 of 10

I am currently building a website on baking and baking equipment. After reading some of these forums I am a little daunted by the amount of information that is out there so I think i am going broad spectrum with tips and tricks with website and product comparisons, the question i have is, has anyone ever downloaded recipe packages online and published them on their site? there is a widget out there for wordpress that will give me a few thousand recipes with a search bar but i dont want to do any copywrite infringment? help icon_razz.gif

9 replies
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jgifford Posted 16 May 2012 , 7:28pm
post #2 of 10

Once it's on the web, copyright is pretty much not an issue. However, as a courtesy to other professionals, you should be sure to give credit to the originator if and when you can.

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jason_kraft Posted 16 May 2012 , 8:47pm
post #3 of 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgifford

Once it's on the web, copyright is pretty much not an issue.



As long as the content is copyrightable, copyright is still an issue even if something is posted on the web. Facts (like a list of ingredients) are not copyrightable, but any creative expression (which may include instructions and techniques) is.

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.html

I'm not sure what "recipe packages" are, so the content of the packages would depend on whether or not you can legally post them without permission.

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jgifford Posted 16 May 2012 , 9:09pm
post #4 of 10

My point is that a copyright will not keep anyone from obtaining and using a recipe if it's posted on line for all the world to see.

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jason_kraft Posted 16 May 2012 , 9:13pm
post #5 of 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgifford

My point is that a copyright will not keep anyone from obtaining and using a recipe if it's posted on line for all the world to see.



Correct, but just because something is posted online does not automatically mean you can legally post it yourself somewhere else without permission -- if you do, you run the risk of being the target of a DMCA takedown notice or worse.

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MimiFix Posted 16 May 2012 , 9:27pm
post #6 of 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgifford

Once it's on the web, copyright is pretty much not an issue. However, as a courtesy to other professionals, you should be sure to give credit to the originator if and when you can.



Sorry, jgifford, I almost always agree with you, but... just because hordes of people thoughtlessly post whatever they feel like, does not make it legal. The only thing not an issue is that people misunderstand the copyright law http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf.

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jgifford Posted 16 May 2012 , 9:48pm
post #7 of 10
Quote:
Originally Posted by MimiFix

Quote:
Originally Posted by jgifford

Once it's on the web, copyright is pretty much not an issue. However, as a courtesy to other professionals, you should be sure to give credit to the originator if and when you can.


Sorry, jgifford, I almost always agree with you, but... just because hordes of people thoughtlessly post whatever they feel like, does not make it legal. The only thing not an issue is that people misunderstand the copyright law http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf.




I bow to you and Jason. I feel credit should always be given where it is due, even when the recipe - or whatever - isn't copyrighted.

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jgifford Posted 16 May 2012 , 9:50pm
post #8 of 10

So, OP - - just exactly what is a "recipe package"?

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costumeczar Posted 20 May 2012 , 10:03pm
post #9 of 10

You can't copyright a recipe, but you can copyright the specific instructions that someone has written to go along with it. A certain media mogul with the intials MS made her career by taking other people's recipes and changing things like 1 Tbsp to 3 tsp and writing different instructions to put in her cookbooks. When one cookbook author called to complain that an entire menu of dishes from one of her cookbooks had been published in a MS cookbook, she was told that they had changed the instructions so there was no copyright infringement. It stinks for the person who developed the recipes, but that's how it goes.

I personally would give credit if I knew where something had come from, though.

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scp1127 Posted 21 May 2012 , 5:11pm
post #10 of 10

I agree with costumeczar and Mimi, both of whom are published authors.

In my recipes, even though some are not much like the original, I cite the author in pm's and on CC. Most recipes I giveput are published on the internt on a reliable site, not just one copying the protected material. I occasionally share one that is not, but only privately with someone I frequently share. This is just one friend sharing with another.

That reminds me imagenthat, I owe you that banana bread brownie recipe.

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