I know there are at least two librarians who read this blog, and I really need some help here. What’s the deal with re-posting recipes on my blog, from other sources? I want to post about some lentil chili I made, and I’d love to post the recipe, but it’s from a book. The obvious answer to me is that you can’t post a recipe out of a book because it’s copyrighted, right?
But then I go to look this up, and find a whole bunch of confusing information. Like how tons of food bloggers seem to do this all the time (both with and without citing sources), and how several people have told me that you can re-post a recipe as long as you change the description of how the thing is made, because only the ingredients are copyrighted. Uh yeah, okay, but isn’t that still basically COPYING THE RECIPE? I mean, if someone took one of my recipes and posted the list of ingredients and then made a description different than mine and thought now it’s theirs, well, I’d have to kick their ass. Compassionately, of course.
Another source says that you can copy “two or three” recipes out of a book, that this is like an excerpt, but like with a novel, you can’t copy whole chapters or large portions without violating copyright. As long as you cite the book, then you’re okay.
What’s the real answer?
The real answer is that even the US Gov’t Copyright Office hasn’t really come up with a good answer to this question: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.html
The list of ingredients isn’t protected — it’s merely a list of food items, after all. What’s protected is the “substantial literary expression” part, which can be found in the instructions of a recipe, or its introduction, or, theoretically, in a combination of recipes, like you might find in a cookbook (where the author has hand-selected recipes that “go together,” for example).
But here’s what I really think as a librarian: If you reprint a few recipes from your favorite cookbook and you are cool about it — including information on how much you love that book and all its other recipes, and here’s a link so you can buy it yourselves, and man, this cookbook is rad, yo! — you are not likely to run into any problems.
If you reprint an ENTIRE cookbook (or a large chunk of it), you might make the author or publisher or etc. kinda mad. It’s sort of a common sense thing — turn your post into a little ad for the book, and they may embrace you. Turn it into a way to get out of ever having to buy the book, and they may get peeved.
That said, even if they get mad, what you’re going to get is a letter from their lawyer that says, “Hey, take that off your web site, jerk.” And then you will take it off your web site and thus ends the war. Tell us if that happens, though, because we want to know which cookbook authors are total stupidheads.
My policy is to post the recipe (with the directions in my own words) and prominently credit the person who came up with it, whether it’s a published recipe or not. I think that’s just common courtesy, and I expect the same treatment of my recipes. I also make sure I credit people who’s recipes I’ve adapted. (Actually, someone just put one of my recipes on their blog, and I was really annoyed because at the end it said it was “adapted from” my recipe, but it wasn’t–it was the EXACT SAME recipe. Argh.)
It really bugs me when cookbook authors make a thing about this–recipes are meant to be shared, IMO, and for me, getting my hands a great recipe means I’m MORE likely to buy the cookbook from whence it came, not less.
Oh, another interesting thing is that you can’t copyright cookbook recipes that are for “standard” items, like, say, chocolate cake, or Eggs Benedict, or whatever. No one in this day and age can say that they invented chocolate cake, so you can’t copyright it. But you could copyright “Uncle Joe’s Extra Special Double-Chocolate Mocha Cake” or whatever. It’s all very strange.
I forgot to say–I credit people whose recipes I’ve adapted IF it’s an original-seeming recipe. I wouldn’t credit someone if I just used any old basic mac ‘n cheese or sugar cookie recipe and then put my own spin on it.
Thanks you guys! I so appreciate all this information, this is great! And it makes me feel comfortable posting that delicious lentil chili recipe…..
I think this all boils (giggles) down to personal ethics. Personally I won’t post another persons recipe. If it’s a recipe that’s already on the web then I’ll provide the link and I ALWAYS give credit where it’s due. I notice a lot of recipes on the web that doesn’t give the author credit and it annoys the hell outta me. Quite frankly I’d be miffed if someone took my recipe and posted it as their own so I wouldn’t do it to anyone else.
Post the lentil chili recipe already!
:) Seriously, I have 50 pounds of lentils in storage, and I NEED more lentil recipes. Sounds perfect for today.
Working on it! :)