Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Panicked chefs propose copyrighted food
Boing Boing: "Megnut food blog points to a moral panic among chefs reacting to plagiarism of their recipes and presentation -- cooks who propose that they should be able to copyright food. Not that they should have a remedy for plagiarism, but that ways of preparing food should be owned, frozen in amber, usable only with permission"
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5 comments:
it would be really hard to copyright food, because recipes can vary so much. lets say restaurant A copyrights their special burger, and the owner of restaurant B takes that same recipe and adds a dash of salt to it....technically its not the same thing, but its so close, where do you draw the line?
if there was to be a copyright on food i feel sorry for the food network because they wouldn't be able to cook or do half of the shows they do
It seems highly unlikely, if not impossible that chefs could actually impose any sort of system, like the one the article describes, and have it work to any extent. It mentions developing a system similar to the ones used in the music/radio/recording industry that would be based on paying royalties, etc., but the systems of the music industry work because there is physical evidence of theft/copying, something that can't be proved with food.
-Samantha Englender
Its true that culinary concoctions are works of art. But it seems a little ridiculous to slap a label on it, claiming it as your own. Why can't people see this kind of copyright as a form of praise? Others want to use your style because it works, its tastey, and its beautiful? I think thats more of a compliment than an attempt to steal your profits...And how can you prove that your method has been replicated by someone else in the exact same steps? Its very unlikely this will ever get off the ground.
Copyright is always such a tricky subject to deal with. How do you prpve that your idea is an original? I used to watch Iron Chef all the time, and very little of what was made on that shoe was completely "original". Food is so poorly documented, and every time I step in front of the sotve, who knows what will come out. Perhaps this is why chefs have had "secret recipes" for centuries. If you don't want people to copy you, then don't tell them how!
copyrighting food seems to be a difficlt thing to do. If htey wanted to keep their recipe a secret they shouldn't be publishing it.
Also, for chef's it's not that they are, for the most part, inventing brand new foods, but instead are adapting older recipes. If it is published then yes, copyright, if not, well, then just don't what the recipe is.
-Harriet
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