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[Brandie Salierno]

Hi!   I have a trail mix recipe where I use a specific name brand cereal in it; how do I go about copyrighting/patenting/trademarking or whatever I need to do with this recipe so I can begin selling it without getting in trouble with the cereal company?  Also; after a label and packaging is figured out (as well as the copyrighting (or whatever I would have to do)); what is the next step to getting it out there... do I just go to a store and ask them to buy it?  Doesn't a board of a retailer make those decisons?  Sorry for all the questions... I have looked everywhere on the internet; but cannot seem to find out all of these questions.  Have a wonderful day and thank-you for your time!

[youngandsuccessful]

I am actually starting my own cooking show.  I am inquiring how I should handle showing original recipes that I created to the public without the risk of them being stolen?  I know that I can generalize a lot of the ingredients but some has to be known for the recipe to be successful.  I am working on a low budget so I cannot afford to pay $10,000 for a patent.  Is there some other way to protect myself with my recipes?  Maybe some sort of copyright?

[Rocio Medina]

Ok, I have a couple questions.  My family owns several restaruants, in which they specialize in selling chicken.  Are they able to patent their recipes? or is their only hope to keep the recie a secret and pray no one every finds it?  How do the large companies such as KFC, and Popeyes go about it?

[CriterionD]

How do the large companies such as KFC, and Popeyes go about it?

Well KFC commonly advertises the "colonel's secret recipe."  If it was patented, it wouldn't be secret.  This has worked well for them, not only have they done a good job of keeping the "recipe" secret, but they are able to use it to enhance their marketing efforts.

KFC does hold a few patents though as well

link

As far as what works best for your family?  It depends on the exact circumstances, and there's no one right answer necessarily

[Paul Gilkerson]

Like the other posts, have a recipe for a dip that has never failed to please.  My concern is that the ingredients involved are products made by large companies.  Would I face a potential problem if I sold the combination of these products (the recipe) under my own label?  What could be a way around this problem?  Thanks!

[stillstudying]

Well KFC commonly advertises the "colonel's secret recipe."  If it was patented, it wouldn't be secret.  This has worked well for them, not only have they done a good job of keeping the "recipe" secret, but they are able to use it to enhance their marketing efforts.

To quote Neal Stephenson (from "The Diamond Age"):
"The House of the Venerable and Inscrutable Colonel was what they called it when they were speaking Chinese. Venerable because of his goatee, white as the dogwood blossom, a badge of unimpeachable credibility in Confucian eyes. Inscrutable because he has gone to his grave without divulging the Secret of the Eleven Herbs and Spices."  

[stillstudying]

Regarding the patentability of recipes, at the USPTO inventor's conference last September, one of the snippets mentioned in one of the breakout sessions I went to was about a major cookie company (might have been Archway -- they seem to turn up frequently on Google when I look for "patent cookies molasses") losing its attempt to get a patent on the use of molasses as a softening ingredient in cookies.  The examiner turned up a recipe from about a hundred years ago which noted that by using molasses in a cookie recipe, the cookies remained soft long after baking.

IIRC, the presenter pointed this case out to highlight the proper use of trade secrets -- the point being that the company's competitors probably wouldn't have figured out that the company's soft cookies were staying soft because of the molasses in the recipe, since it would be difficult to analyze what was preventing hardening -- but that since patent applications were public after 18 months, the company publicized the (little-known) "secret", thereby blowing their competitive advantage.

One of my hobbies is cooking, and there are a lot of small details in preparation or ingredient selection which cause major differences in the final product.  Use of copper bowls for beating fluffy meringues, butter vs. margarine resulting in different crispiness of cookies, and so on ad infinitum.

If someone is teaching, or is publishing recipes, I don't really understand why that someone would want to get a patent on the process or recipe -- that would seem to defeat the purpose of instruction.  If producing finished consumer foods, I can see the point -- but given that experimentation in cooking techniques is such a thoroughly mined subject area, unless you've really hit on something unique, there are hundreds of years of cookbooks that can be used against you as prior art.

[Naphtali]

Is a hair care product patentable that consists of all natural ingredients?  The use of these ingredients for the purpose proposed has not been displayed before.  Also, is this patentable if it has been used prior in another country (the ingredients not stated though)? Or, is the best path to keep the formulation as a trade secret?

[Daniel Lones]

I have a salsa recipe thats been in my family for years I have made a few changes to it and everyone I have given a jar to has told me I should sell it.( I have been making it for about 10 years now.)My ? to you is will I Have to get a patent or copyright it and how much it would cost.  Iam really interested in finding a company to sell the recipe to. THANKS DANNY

[swardeep]

 In fact there are many such patents.  Just running a quick search for patents with the words “food” and “cook$” came up with 2789 patents.