How to Copyright a Recipe
Consider copyright for the easiest form of basic protection., Know that publication is not necessary for copyright protection., Make the choice about how you want to license your work.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Consider copyright for the easiest form of basic protection.
This method is what may be the easiest and least expensive.
What can, or cannot, be copyrighted? How would someone route through the maze of what can or must be done? Relax, it's easy. "Copyright law does not protect recipes that are mere listings of ingredients.
Nor does it protect other mere listings of ingredients such as those found in formulas, compounds, or prescriptions.
Copyright protection may, however, extend to substantial literary expression—a description, explanation, or illustration, for example—that accompanies a recipe or formula or to a combination of recipes, as in a cookbook.
Only original works of authorship are protected by copyright. “Original” means that an author produced a work by his or her own intellectual effort instead of copying it from an existing work."Copyright only applies to the author of the original work.
Your grandmother's recipe for her world famous Shrove Tuesday hash and pancake supper is copyrighted to her alone.
See "Who Can Claim Copyright" The name of the recipe, or collection, cannot be copyrighted.
It may be protected by patent. -
Step 2: Know that publication is not necessary for copyright protection.
"Copyright protection is available for all unpublished works, regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author."
You can self-copyright any original work of your own, and you decide what rights, if any, people may have if they duplicate your work.
You've seen the copyright symbol © followed by the phrase, "All Rights Reserved"
or "Some Rights Reserved".
You can do that yourself under Creative Commons.Look at the bottom of this page, or any wiki page, you will see that phrase.
Learn all about how to use your own custom copyright at Creative Commons.
The best part about it is that it's fairly easy, it gives you all the coding and programming you need to put it on a website, or to write on a page, and it's free.
It doesn't cost hundreds of dollars, nor involve a lawyer like a patent. -
Step 3: Make the choice about how you want to license your work.
Detailed Guide
This method is what may be the easiest and least expensive.
What can, or cannot, be copyrighted? How would someone route through the maze of what can or must be done? Relax, it's easy. "Copyright law does not protect recipes that are mere listings of ingredients.
Nor does it protect other mere listings of ingredients such as those found in formulas, compounds, or prescriptions.
Copyright protection may, however, extend to substantial literary expression—a description, explanation, or illustration, for example—that accompanies a recipe or formula or to a combination of recipes, as in a cookbook.
Only original works of authorship are protected by copyright. “Original” means that an author produced a work by his or her own intellectual effort instead of copying it from an existing work."Copyright only applies to the author of the original work.
Your grandmother's recipe for her world famous Shrove Tuesday hash and pancake supper is copyrighted to her alone.
See "Who Can Claim Copyright" The name of the recipe, or collection, cannot be copyrighted.
It may be protected by patent.
"Copyright protection is available for all unpublished works, regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author."
You can self-copyright any original work of your own, and you decide what rights, if any, people may have if they duplicate your work.
You've seen the copyright symbol © followed by the phrase, "All Rights Reserved"
or "Some Rights Reserved".
You can do that yourself under Creative Commons.Look at the bottom of this page, or any wiki page, you will see that phrase.
Learn all about how to use your own custom copyright at Creative Commons.
The best part about it is that it's fairly easy, it gives you all the coding and programming you need to put it on a website, or to write on a page, and it's free.
It doesn't cost hundreds of dollars, nor involve a lawyer like a patent.
About the Author
Brandon Miller
Brings years of experience writing about crafts and related subjects.
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