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Recipes and CopyrightCopyright protects all types of published materials, recipes included. That said:"A mere listing of ingredients is not protected under copyright law. However, where a recipe or formula is accompanied by substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions, or when there is a collection of recipes as in a cookbook, there may be a basis for copyright protection." — The Copyright Office of the US Government What is not infringement: if the recipe originated elsewhere, even if the ingredients are still the same, if the directions and description of your posted recipe are in your own words, it is your recipe. What is infringement: If the recipe directions or description are a wholesale copy of another person's creative literary expression, they are in violation of copyright. In other words, if you find a salad recipe in cookbook and list all the ingredients, but use your own words to describe the making of the recipe, it is not copyright infringement. If you copy a recipe verbatim from an online or printed source, including the language describing its preparation, we would prefer and expect you to change it to your own words before posting. We don't mind if you include information about where you got the recipe as long as the description and directions are in your own words ("giving credit" is always the right thing to do). For more information see our Terms of Service Agreement. |
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