this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
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Today I Learned

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138
TIL that recipes are not protected by copyright law in the USA (and likely Canada) (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works to c/til@lemmy.world
36 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

References

  • "Are Recipes Protected by Copyright Law?". Kiera Boyd. Fasken. The Angle. Lexology. Published: 2021-07-07. Accessed: 2024-10-31T04:50Z. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=bc2cc721-99bc-47f0-be4f-727f25421201.

    • In [Publications International, Ltd. v. Meredith Corp. 88 F.3d 473 (7th Cir. 1996) ], the court stated that a functional list of ingredients cannot be considered original within the meaning of the Copyright Act.

    • In Lambing v. Godiva Chocolatier, 142 F. 3d 434 (6th Cir. 1998) [Lambing], the court stated plainly that recipes are not protected by copyright, completely ignoring the possibility that a recipe could contain enough expressive elements to make it copyrightable.

    • Canadian courts have not yet addressed the issue of copyright in recipes [...]. Under Canadian copyright law, facts, formulas, and ideas are not protected by copyright. This means that just like in the U.S., recipes which only list ingredients (facts) and the steps that one takes to complete the recipe (formulas) are likely not protected by copyright in Canada.

    • Based on current Canadian copyright law and the leading caselaw on the subject in the U.S., a list of ingredients or matter-of-fact instructions regarding the process of creating a recipe is unlikely to be protected by copyright law.

  • keepitquickk. "Is it unethical to use online recipes for my restaurant? Am I stealing someone’s work?". r/NoStupidQuestions. Reddit. Published: 2021-11-16T16:00:59.196Z. Accessed: 2024-10-31T04:58Z. https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/qvb0gy/comment/hkv7xg6/.

    • [...] you can't copyright a recipe [...]

top 36 comments
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[–] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 38 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Stories are, though, which is why recipes have long, rambling introductions about the author’s grandmother’s childhood in a small village in Sicily or whatever.

[–] th3dogcow@lemmy.world 21 points 3 weeks ago

Also for SEO when they are online.

[–] fubo@lemmy.world 27 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Yep. This is why online recipe sites put a whole goddamn personal essay before the actual recipe: if someone scrapes the page and copies it, they'll scrape the (copyrightable) essay as well as the (non-copyrightable) recipe.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 44 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I'm pretty sure they do it to pad out the content so 87 ads will fit, but the scrape theory's cute too.

[–] MirthfulAlembic@lemmy.world 10 points 3 weeks ago

Also to increase the length of time you are on the page. Dwell time factors into SEO. It's really an all of the above thing though.

[–] JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 21 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

Wait so does that mean I can legally steal the coca cola recipe?

[–] K1nsey6@lemmy.world 23 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

If you are able to get a hold of the recipe, you could duplicate it without retribution.

[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Well, aside from it being illegal for any entity except Coke to handle one of the ingredients.

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

And what ingredient is that? 👀

[–] ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The coke

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

You put the lime in the coke, YOU NUT!!!

[–] Botzo@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

And shake it all up.

[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Coca leaves. They're de-coked prior to use, but they're still a controlled substance. Coke has an exception built into the law that effectively makes them the only ~~country~~ company in the US that can access them (possibly outside of medical, I'm not really sure and don't care to check). There's not a lot in the drink anymore as it is, just enough to keep the name.

[–] mox@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Coke has an exception built into the law that effectively makes them the only country in the US that can access them

TIL Coca-Cola is a country in the US.

[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 weeks ago

Yep, swipe input with midnight brain do be making those alternative facts. Thanks for pointing it out.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Ah yes, the Country of Coca-Cola. Located in Atlanta Georgia, Coca-Cola, 30313.

Look, I don't know how a country is located in a city, which itself is located in the country, which is located in the zip code.

I don't understand a lot of things in life! But I'll unrelentlessly believe every single thing I ever hear, from every single person who says anything! Surely theres no controlling party with an agenda that stands to gain power and influence by controlling the masses through a series of misinformation campaigns over the coarse of multiple generations spanning back nearly a centry ago......

Welp. See you all at the polls this Tuesday! What could POSSIBLY go wrong???

[–] weker01@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago

Not very surprising tbh. More reasonable even to call it a country than a person

[–] webghost0101@sopuli.xyz 18 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

This is why some things are trade secrets rather then trademarked.

Only very few people in the world know the coca cola recipe. Legally your free to recreate it and sell. Good luck though knowing that the company has an exclusive contract to process cocaïne leaves into flavoring extract. (The narcotic byproduct sold to phrama)

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 14 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Coca leaves. Cocaine is the concentrated and processed stimulant drug.

Coca leaves are also a stimulant, but at a fraction of the strength.

That said, you are correct, Coca-Cola denatures them anyway, so the only stimulant part comes from the caffeine. It's a bit silly. You'd have to drink a supermarket aisle's worth of Coca-Cola to get the equivalent of a line of cocaine.

Coca leaves are also legal in parts of South America, where it originates, even though cocaine is not. Coca has deep cultural roots and also has practical value. Along with its stimulant properties, it helps with altitude sickness in the Andes.

I've had mate de coca- coca tea. It's traditionally either chewed or made into tea. I was able to get it imported from a website that no longer exists and I'm guessing I know why. Anyway, aside from the taste (vaguely like damp straw), it was pretty great. Kept you more awake than coffee without any jittery feelings and was completely gone within a few hours.

(Apologies for rambling.)

[–] CodexArcanum@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I visited Ecuador several years ago and got to chew on coca leaves, but they also had coca leaf candies! Both were excellent for helping with altitude sickness, and I really enjoyed the flavor. Had a gentle mood lifting effect too, like a nice cup of tea, but in the form of chewed cud, haha.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

The leaf or the candies might be better. I had to make the tea super sweet to tolerate it and I am not a fan of super sweet tea.

But aside from that, it was so much better than coffee.

[–] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 1 points 3 weeks ago

Where did you buy it? Its illegal to sell in Ecuador

[–] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

One version of the recipe was accidentally leaked a while back. It's not the exact formulation they sell today, but apparently it's damn close.

Also @JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world

[–] JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

That's the pre-corn syrup version so if anything it probably tastes better than what we have now.

Now all I have to do is call up some buddies in Columbia and we'll be cookin'

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 8 points 3 weeks ago

If you can do so without some other crime such as breaking and entering, sure. If you can buy a bottle of coke off the shelf and then reverse engineer its formula, there's not much they can legally do about that.

[–] Fondots@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It depends a bit on what you mean by "stealing"

If you were to break into the coke vault, hack into their computers, threaten or blackmail a coke executive, etc. in order to obtain it, those would all be illegal acts on their own.

But if you reverse-engineered the recipe yourself, or just happened to come across it in some legal fashion you could do pretty much whatever you want with it- publish the recipe, make your own cola and sell it (can't call it "coca-cola" or "Coke" though because of trademarks and such,) try to sell the recipe to one of Coke's competitors, etc.

Anyone with the recipe is going to have a hell of a time trying to do anything with it though because one of the ingredients is allegedly still coca leaf extract and coke is pretty much the only entity that is allowed to do anything with the stuff.

[–] JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

...one of the ingredients is allegedly still coca leaf extract and coke is pretty much the only entity that is allowed to do anything with that stuff.

Easy. CIA-sponsored Coke competitor. Profits may or may not fund anti communist rebels in South America.

[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Why do you think Pepsi, Coke, and RC cola have a similar taste profile?

[–] JusticeForPorygon@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

I don't, other than that they're all acidic

[–] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Its sugar and water and a few other things

[–] inverted_deflector@startrek.website 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

but then the professor accidentally added another ingredient

C H E M I C A L X

[–] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 1 points 2 weeks ago

Well I just learned more than I ever needed to know about Powerpuff Girls lore

[–] BigTrout75@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Amazon Kindle is killing right with the cook books. Millions of them

[–] inverted_deflector@startrek.website 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

It's crazy when you consider how many things even back in the gilded age were legislated as common sense that in the modern era are tied up in lots of trademark and copyright red tape because unlike the old thing it involves computers or an app.

Like libraries would not have become a thing if we tried to invent them in the modern era.

[–] leftytighty@slrpnk.net 5 points 3 weeks ago

They're actively being combatted by the right.