IP tiff over recipes

From time to time, IPBiz discusses intellectual property related to food [e.g., The European cookie paste wars: blog post kills patent ]

Now, one notes a post involving Chris Knight with sub-caption: An Ottawa food empire has left a bitter taste in the mouth of a cookbook author in Japan who alleges it stole and served up her recipes.

The complaining party seems to be one Nancy Singleton Hachisu and the article notes:


A lawyer for Hachisu’s publisher sent a letter in June demanding that the impugned cookbook be withdrawn from sale and any web content taken down. A letter from the Kansas City lawyer for Andrews McMeel Publishing charted alleged “infringing language” in six recipes and said the “timing, tenor and substance” of the response would help decide whether damages would be sought.

Months later, Hachisu now says she’s seeking a total of $30,000 in compensatory damages, pursuing “the principle of the matter” on her own.

But according to Gusto World Media, it will be they who file a lawsuit in Ontario shortly.

“To avoid any confusion, I wish to be clear, the One World Kitchen cookbook does not infringe any alleged rights of Ms. Hachisu,” Knight, the author of a string of cookbooks along with his work on television, said in a statement.

Knight said that Hachisu has taken her allegations to social media — her tweets use words such as “cowards” and “morally reprehensible” — instead of asserting them in court. Gusto Worldwide Media, meanwhile, “has remained patient and has taken the high road with the hope that the matter would be resolved and not escalate further.”



link to article in ottawacitizen:
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/local-media-mogul-embroiled-in-foodie-fight-over-alleged-plagiarism