SCENARIO 11: I write a cookbook, are my recipes then protected
by copyright? What copyrights are involved? A copyright in a
recipe is possible, but not the easiest to enforce. The list of
ingredients and the order of adding and preparing them would not
be protected. Copyright law is not meant to protect techniques
or things like a list of ingredients. What may have copyright
are the words used to express the directions and explanations of
the recipe. Copyright law protects the expression of an original
idea that is fixed. For something to be original, creativity,
skill and judgment must go into creating the work. Thus, some
originality must go into the words used to express the recipe.
If someone were to copy exactly, or even with minor alterations,
the words used to express your recipe, you could strongly argue
that they are infringing your work. On the other hand, if they
paraphrase or alter the wording of your recipe, arguing
infringement could be more difficult. Pictures of the food: If
your cookbook cont