Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Yes, that pretty much covers it. Recipe developers are building on work that preceded them that is essentially community property.

Julia Child did not invent French Cooking and did not invent any new recipes. She learned them from others and interpreted them for Americans. Where does one draw a line to determine the point at which Julia actually owns a recipe? It can't be done, so the simple answer is that a recipe cannot be owned or copyrighted.

On ATK Radio Chris and company did a segment on "The New World of Stolen Recipes" and discussed the issue in depth. Oddly enough, the audio from that show was no longer available when I went to quote from it.

I think you do have to be careful, though, what is considered "the recipe". It may well not cover any pre-amble, etc., so reproduction is tricky unless you are sticking to reproducing solely the list of ingredients.

I suspect some recipes may be considered trade secrets, though. They aren't so easy to come by

Lu, you've changed the cookie enough to use your name. How about MacaLuAhs?

Unfortunately, I have nothing to offer for a cookie name.

Copyright issues come into play with the recipe *instructions* and any accompanying text (like a CI article, for example). If you rewrite the instructions, you may reproduce a recipe's ingredients (including measurements). However, you must actually compose new directions, not just copy/paste the existing instructions and change one or two words. Of course, there is a limit on just how many ways you can say "put ingredients into a bowl and stir," but recipe writers do tend to have a "voice" like any other writer. While it may be honorable to acknowledge the source or inspiration for a recipe, one is under no legal obligation to do so.

As far as I know, there are no copyright issues for using a published recipe in a production environment. Cookbook recipes aren't patented information or intellectual property. I see no reason for Lu offer any explanation for the inspiration for her cookies--even if she uses the recipe exactly. Nor do I expect that her patrons will care where she got the recipe; they want to know if the cookies taste good.

If someone uses my pancake recipe in their diner, I'll take it as a compliment. If I didn't want anyone to use my recipe I wouldn't publish it. Nor can I expect to exercise any control over the ingredient list ("formula") once it's in the public domain.

I appreciate all the input regarding names and copyright issues. I always wondered about some of the questions that were raised. I asked my friends for their suggestions and so far, "Maui's DaKine (pronounced Da-Kine) Cookies" is in first place. "Dakine" is a Hawaiian slang word for "watchayamacallit". Thanks again!

Lu

Dakine is also a trademarked name for a large ski/sporting goods company. Not that it should be an issue, as you are clearly not in the same category. Just for your info.

Amy

Mahalo for the info Amy!

Lu