(no subject)
Food writing and the law have both been calling to me in the past couple of years...sometimes one is louder than the other. My friend James and I have magically figured out a way to combine the two, through culinary I.P. To illustrate what this is, consider this hypothetical:
Bobby Flay, one of the more famous practitioners of the culinary arts in New York City hires a commis or line cook. After a few years, this line cook is promoted all the way up to sous chef, the second in command of the kitchen. Eventually, this sous chef decides to leave Mesa Grill and start his own restaurant. His new restaurant's cuisine, not surprisingly, is almost a complete clone of Mesa Grill for all intents and purposes. Can Bobby Flay gain royalties, damages, or injunctive relief from litigation? I wonder if such a thing would violate a non-compete clause (assuming that some kind of employment contract even existed between them [good luck finding that] and that courts would find it valid).
Federal courts have been racking their brains re: recipe copyright and have found that recipes in of themselves aren't protected (they define recipe as a list of ingredients and a written process for bringing them together into a dish...surprisingly, if there is a description of the origin of the dish or lore surrounding it, that is legally protected intellectual property).
Ok...that was a complete tangent, but I like it.
Bobby Flay, one of the more famous practitioners of the culinary arts in New York City hires a commis or line cook. After a few years, this line cook is promoted all the way up to sous chef, the second in command of the kitchen. Eventually, this sous chef decides to leave Mesa Grill and start his own restaurant. His new restaurant's cuisine, not surprisingly, is almost a complete clone of Mesa Grill for all intents and purposes. Can Bobby Flay gain royalties, damages, or injunctive relief from litigation? I wonder if such a thing would violate a non-compete clause (assuming that some kind of employment contract even existed between them [good luck finding that] and that courts would find it valid).
Federal courts have been racking their brains re: recipe copyright and have found that recipes in of themselves aren't protected (they define recipe as a list of ingredients and a written process for bringing them together into a dish...surprisingly, if there is a description of the origin of the dish or lore surrounding it, that is legally protected intellectual property).
Ok...that was a complete tangent, but I like it.