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Copyright Protection Available for Recipes

Barbour v. Head, 178 F. Supp. 2d 758 (S.D. Tex. 2001)

District court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment in case involving alleged infringement of recipes taken from plaintiffs’ cookbook specializing in Texas-themed food. Defendants published plaintiffs’ recipes virtually verbatim on Internet and in their own book without plaintiffs’ knowledge or permission. Plaintiffs sued under Copyright Act and Texas unfair competition law. Court rejected defendants’ argument that recipes are mere processes and procedures and per se not subject to copyright protection, noting recipes, particularly when presented in compilation or accompanied by substantial literary expression, may contain elements subject to copyright protection. Court also rejected defendants’ arguments that claims were barred by statute of limitations, since plaintiffs discovered infringement, and action accrued, during year case was filed. Plaintiffs’ state law claims were dismissed as preempted.

Source:
http://www.abanet.org/intelprop/coursematerials/goldberg.pdf
, page 26

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