Should Copyright Law Prevent Culinary Piracy?
In the United States, dining has become an increasingly popular form of leisure and entertainment, generating an estimated $537 billion in 2007. However, dining represents only one aspect of the modern food economy; cooking and dining are regularly featured in newspapers and magazines, while celebrity chefs tout their own brands on television. Eating has been transformed from a mere perfunctory activity into big business. Increasing competition for the attention and money of restaurant patrons has prompted chefs of grande cuisine to differentiate their menus by creating unique dishes. The time and labor that chefs sink into this form of innovation represents a substantial investment, and some have turned to the law to protect their original dishes from competing chefs. Yet, copyright law fails to protect chefs’ recipes from copyists. Historically, the law has viewed recipes as uncopyrightable subject matter because of their “functional” and “utilitarian” nature. This note illustrates w
