Recipes and Copyright policy

Recipe submissions must adhere to relevant copyrights laws as well as our copyrights policy

Do not 'copy word for word' and submit recipes from a cookbooks, magazines, or other sources. It may be in violation of copyrights laws.

There are two parts to a recipe: 'ingredients and quantities there-of', and the text describing the process of making the dish. The 'ingredients and quantities there-of' are not  copyright protected. The text is copyright protected. Legally, you will not violate copyrights protection if you just re-write the instructions.

You may be legally safe if you changed the text, or the recipe was not copyright protected. Ethically, one should always acknowledge the source that inspired you, or you used as a basis for your own creation.

For more information see the U.S. Copyright Office information sheet on copyrighting recipes

- Cookbooks published before 1923 are not copyright protected, they are in public domain. Example Ain-I-Akbar

-Cookbooks published 1923 to 1963 with notice: 28 years first term, notice renewal for second 47 year term (automatic extension for added 20 years). If the notice was not renewed, these publication are in public domain

-Cookbooks published 1964 to 1977 with notice: 28 year first term, automatic 67 year second term

-Cookbooks created on or after 1/1/1978: 70 years after the death of the author. In case of corporations, 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation.