An interesting dispute has exploded on social media recently
between two celebrity cooks: Nagi Maehashi of popular cooking
website RecipeTin Eats and bakery owner Brooke Bellamy. Nagi has
accused Brooke of copying two of her recipes, which were published
by Brooke in her best-selling Bake with Brooki cookbook,
released last year. A social media post by Nagi shows that the
ingredient lists for her recipes are almost identical to those
published by Brooke.
At first glance, this might seem like a clear-cut case of
copyright infringement, but once you stir the pot, you'll find
the recipe isn't so simple.
In the culinary world, recipes are often considered the heart
and soul of a chef's creativity. However, when it comes to
intellectual property (IP) protection, recipes occupy a unique and
often challenging space. Unlike inventions or artistic works,
recipes are functional instructions designed to achieve a specific
result, making their protection under traditional IP
