Theft, Pie and the Public Domain

The power of social media was on full display this past week, as the unauthorized publication of a recipe for apple pie drew a quick and virulent online response. The story begins on November 3, when blogger Monica Gaudio announced on her blog that Cooks Source, a small New England magazine, had republished an article on the history of apple pie (she had previously written it for another publication) without permission. While Gaudio was credited for her work, she never consented to, nor was she compensated for, the use of the article. After emailing the magazine's editor, Gaudio received a response informing her that the internet is "public domain". The email, which Gaudio published on her blog, sparked a fierce response from an online community that quickly coalesced on Facebook to disparage the magazine's conduct.