"Nada se faz, Nada se Cria, Tudo se Copia" -- "Chacrinha" A late Brazilian
comedian used to say facetiously that nothing is made, nothing is created,
everything is copied.
People do not create recipes, they interpret them. Just like performers do
not create the American Anthem at every Superbowl.
I think the issues of copyright have been discussed previously on this list,
Common sense dictates that copyright protection in the case of recipes is
distinct from that of the text of "The Old Man and The Sea". List of
ingredients or method description cannot be copyrighted, only parts of a
recipe which would be creative writing.
How could Jazzbel copyright french bread? 6 cups of flour, 2 tsp salt, 1/2
oz fresh yeast, 2 1/4 cups warm water. "Put the ingredients in the machine
in the order recommended by the manufacturer"?
Where feasible I will quote the source of the recipe I used, such as
Panettone by Carol Field, Portuguese Sweetbread By Peter Reinhart. This is
no different from what foodtv.com does in their recipes ("recipe courtesy
of Emeril Lagasse"-- this does not mean that the creator of the recipe was
Emeril Lagasse).
In defense of Rosemary, I have to say that she always offers her
interpretations of the recipes she posts, with detailed instructions of
changes made to the recipe-- her interpretation, therefore her
recipe. Also many times websites and other bread baking lists, where these
recipes are posted offer no credits, so one cannot pass them on.
Remember, the reverse also happens, many authors use mailing lists to
obtain ideas, and very few credit where the ideas came from.
To keep recipes proprietary, well, I think you have to do like KFC, don't
write a book about it.
Later,
Jazzbel