William Barfieldsr on 04 Nov 2003 suggested:

> Thanks Angela, he is just shooting his mouth off.

Oh, and I rarely just shoot my mouth off. Especially when it
comes to the law.

> There have not been any "Original" recipes in over a hundred years.

Well, now isn't that another one of those wonderfully typical
arrogant, ignorant, and completely stupid statements that YOU are
becoming so famous for. You know, in the late 1800's, the Patent
Commissioner declared that everything that could ever be invented, had
been invented. Was he related to you?

I do NOT cook, but I do help others cook, and I have come up with
several ORIGINAL recipes of my own, both in ingredients, and in process.
It does not surprise me that you don't think there is anything original,
since there sure doesn't seem to be anything original in your brain, and
may well not have been in 100 years.

> Simply because a site Says the recipe is copyrighted, doesn't
> necessarily mean it is copyrighted.

Since 1978, all original works affixed in a tangible medium are
automatically protected by Copyright. Since most websites didn't exist
prior to 1978, they would be protected. The recipes themselves would
might also be Copyright depending on the factual basis surrounding them.

> The courts would have to decide that, and I don't think
> they want to go to the expence involved in a court battle, unless
> they could prove a substantial loss of income from posting the recipe
> in a news group.

Actually, the expense in filing a Copyright infringement suit is
rather low, especially when compared against the potential damages that
can be recovered. Also, the majority of the expense would be on the
defendant, since the presumption is that the Copyright is valid, and you
would have to affirmatively prove any defenses or mitigating
circumstances.

Apparently, you do NOT understand Copyright law either. The term
"statutory damages" means that they don't have to prove ANY actual
damages or loss at all. All they have to prove is that they have a
valid Copyright, and that they have registered it before they filed
suit, an easy thing to do. The statutory damages can be as high as
$150,000 for each work infringed, not a bad return for a $200 investment
in filing the law suit.

--Douglas