I am in the process of starting a cupcake business in NC. I wanted my cupcakes to be celebrity inspired. I went to the Millions of Milkshakes website where celebrities go to make their signature milkshake and it is then placed on the menu. My question is, will it be considered illegal if I took the recipes the celebrities made for their milkshake and use it in a cupcake and inspired by that celebrity?
kmurray | Community Moderator |
11/2/2011 - 3:56 pm
Hi,
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BizResearcher | Window Shopper |
11/2/2011 - 11:26 am
Perhaps a bigger issue is whether you can use a celebrity's name and/or likeness without their permission when a specific product is involved. To say that a coconut mango cupcake, for example, was inspired by Ophra Winfrey might get you in trouble with her agents or attorneys for using her name without her permission. Most celebrities have licensing agreements with various companies. You would be using the person's name without having a licensing agreement and that could potentially be a huge problem. A business attorney should be able to tell you what is acceptable.
Probably not.
Recipes can be copyrighted or patented just like any other form of intellectual property. So, it depends on if the recipe is copyrighted or patented by the celebrity. If so, you cannot use it without their licensing.
But this may not be all. If the recipe is written down somewhere, for example, on a website - then it technically belongs to the person who wrote it - regardless of whether a federal copyright/patent exists. In this case, you still cannot use the recipe without the permission of the author/creator. This obviously applies to commercial use, that is, use of the recipe to generate revenue yourself. You can, of course, use the recipe for personal consumption.
If the recipe is written down on a piece of paper or in a notebook - I think the same rule applies. It belongs to the owner/author, much in the same way that a poem you wrote in a personal diary, belongs to you. No one can reproduce that poem - and use it for a primarily commercial purpose - without your permission.
Certainly if you are going to use a celeb's recipe for commercial use, you best check with an attorney on this before getting started.
Ethically speaking, it is bad PR practice to use someone else's ideas or intellectual property without their permission, and can land you in all sorts of PR hot water if you aren't careful. I wouldn't do it.
Probably not.Recipes can be copyrighted or patented just like any other form of intellectual property. So, it depends on if the recipe is copyrighted or patented by the celebrity. If so, you cannot use it without their licensing.But this may not be all. If the recipe is written down somewhere, for example, on a website - then it technically belongs to the person who wrote it - regardless of whether a federal copyright/patent exists. In this case, you still cannot use the recipe without the permission of the author/creator. This obviously applies to commercial use, that is, use of the recipe to generate revenue yourself. You can, of course, use the recipe for personal consumption.If the recipe is written down on a piece of paper or in a notebook - I think the same rule applies. It belongs to the owner/author, much in the same way that a poem you wrote in a personal diary, belongs to you. No one can reproduce that poem - and use it for a primarily commercial purpose - without your permission.Certainly if you are going to use a celeb's recipe for commercial use, you best check with an attorney on this before getting started.Ethically speaking, it is bad PR practice to use someone else's ideas or intellectual property without their permission, and can land you in all sorts of PR hot water if you aren't careful. I wouldn't do it.
I'm not sure if you can copyright recipes. But if you're worried about it, maybe you can take the base recipe and add your own little tweek to it to make it different.
Probably not.Recipes can be copyrighted or patented just like any other form of intellectual property. So, it depends on if the recipe is copyrighted or patented by the celebrity. If so, you cannot use it without their licensing.But this may not be all. If the recipe is written down somewhere, for example, on a website - then it technically belongs to the person who wrote it - regardless of whether a federal copyright/patent exists. In this case, you still cannot use the recipe without the permission of the author/creator. This obviously applies to commercial use, that is, use of the recipe to generate revenue yourself. You can, of course, use the recipe for personal consumption.If the recipe is written down on a piece of paper or in a notebook - I think the same rule applies. It belongs to the owner/author, much in the same way that a poem you wrote in a personal diary, belongs to you. No one can reproduce that poem - and use it for a primarily commercial purpose - without your permission.Certainly if you are going to use a celeb's recipe for commercial use, you best check with an attorney on this before getting started.Ethically speaking, it is bad PR practice to use someone else's ideas or intellectual property without their permission, and can land you in all sorts of PR hot water if you aren't careful. I wouldn't do it.
kmurray | Community Moderator | 11/2/2011 - 3:56 pm
BizResearcher | Window Shopper | 11/2/2011 - 11:26 am
petrosianii | Window Shopper | 10/18/2011 - 4:37 pm
Emar23 | Window Shopper | 10/25/2011 - 1:32 am
uhoward | Performer | 10/19/2011 - 9:54 am
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