# Quoting Recipes from books



## giggler (Sep 29, 2012)

I would like to share a recipe from a book..

Though I make the Recipe just a bit differently..

I feel I should give Absolute Credit to the Author, ( the book may be out of print, but still for sale on Amazon)..

How does one handle this without Stepping on Toes?

Eric, Austin Tx.


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## bakechef (Sep 29, 2012)

Write the recipe in your own words, along with your changes and you should be fine.  I feel that it is good form to add "inspired by" if the recipe is from a blog, website or book.  From what others have said here, you cannot copy write a list of ingredients, so if the instructions are in your own words, you should be safe.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 29, 2012)

Review:

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/misc.php?do=sknetwork&page=rules

for the rules re: the forum and posting recipes from sources that are copyrighted.


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## GLC (Sep 29, 2012)

I would just say something like, "So-and-so, in her book Cooking to Kill, gives a recipe something like this one.  But I have changed things a little by...."   Then just write it up in your own terms, without following the original text. 

Copyright issues like this are not hard to understand when you consider that it's copyright, not patent, so what's protected is the actual literal text or graphic, not the formula. Don't copy the author's text, and you're not afoul of copyright. 

Crediting the formula, the ingredients and steps (not using the same words) to the original author is just courtesy.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 29, 2012)

Patents are expensive to maintain. However, copyright violation does carry a hefty financial penalty (in Canada, it is $50K and possibly 2 years in jail). I won't go into how I feel about "to the original author is just a courtesy." "Not using the same words" is a form of plagiarism Plagerism legal definition of Plagerism. Plagerism synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary. and should not be encouraged, IMO.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Sep 29, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> Review:
> 
> http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/misc.php?do=sknetwork&page=rules
> 
> for the rules re: the forum and posting recipes from sources that are copyrighted.



CWS is exactly right.  The link goes directly to the Community Rules on posting standards, including the posting of Copyright material.

Thanks, CWS!


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## CraigC (Sep 30, 2012)

See if you can find the recipe from the book online and just provide a link.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Oct 1, 2012)

There is no joy in cutting and pasting a recipe from a book. All that does is help distribute a copyrighted work bypassing payment to the author and publisher. Instead, do what I do.

As stated above, (1) a list of ingredients cannot be copyrighted. (2) The copyrighted work is the text describing the recipe's method.

So go cook the recipe several times, then put away the book and cook the recipe again and write down what you did. Post that, along with the original list of ingredients. (Or change them. By the time you've cooked it several times you'll probably want to change something.)


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