Cooks Source Magazine is a print and online publication which came under fire in November 2010 for allegedly plagiarizing the work of author and blogger, Monica Gaudio.http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/11/cooks_source_masters_new_recip.html Gaudio is the author of the food article, “A Tale of Two Tarts,” a piece on the origins of apple pie which appeared on “Gode Cookery Presents,” in 2005. http://www.godecookery.com/twotarts/twotarts.html

On the evening of November 3, 2010, Monica Gaudio published a post on her LiveJournal blog which detailed her experience with Cooks Source Magazine editor, Judith Griggs, after Gaudio was told by a friend that her 2005 article had appeared in the magazine without her knowledge or permission. According to Gaudio, when she alerted Griggs to the problem and asked for an apology and a donation to the Columbia School of Journalism as restitution, she received an email reply in which Griggs purported that web content was in the public domain. In a transcript of the email, Griggs allegedly suggested that Gaudio should pay the magazine for the editing work they had done on the article.http://illadore.livejournal.com/30674.html

On November 4, 2010, Gaudio’s story went viral online. Readers were directed to the Cooks Source Magazine website, which in turn, directed them to the magazine’s fan page on Facebook.http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/11/cooks_source_masters_new_recip.html By the end of the day, the page had nearly 3000 fans and several pages of angry comments directed at Judith Griggs.http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cooks-Source-Magazine/196994196748 Fan page users used the discussion section of the fan page to post other instances of copyright infringement and plagiarism by the magazine, with users reporting Griggs allegedly stole content from Martha Stewart, NPR, and Paula Deen, among others.http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/11/cooks_source_masters_new_recip.html

Cook Source has listed a statement on the home page of their website in response to the situation regarding the article by Monica Gaudio. In this statement they have stated that they requested the cancellation of their Facebook page on November 4, 2010. Included in the statement are descriptions of the new procedures that are being developed for article submission and publishing.

Cooks Source states they have met the restitution requirements that were asked of them by Gaudio, including a donation made to the Columbia School of Journalism. The site has also stated that they are making a donation in her name to the Western New England Food Bank. Cooks Source indicated that their site was being made unavailable due to the hardship the incident may cause to their advertisers. There is no mention of when the website will become accessible again.http://www.cookssource.com/index.html

Copyright refers to the group of rights given to an author or creator of an original work. Works generally protected by copyright include but are not limited to songs, books, poetry, plays, architectural creations, sculptures, and other visual art. Prior to March 1989, creators of these works were required to provide a copyright notice with their works in order to enjoy the protection of the law. Notice is no longer required.http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/definitions.html

According to the United States Copyright Office, contents of a website may be protected by copyright. This protection includes written content, photography, and art, and anything else that would otherwise be protected by copyright laws.http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html Some educators recommend asking permission whenever possible before using any work found on the internet.http://www.umuc.edu/library/copy.shtml#elec

As a rule, recipes are not protected under copyright laws, however, if recipes are accompanied by written content such as descriptions, explanations, or photographs or illustrations, the work can be protected. Additionally, recipes compiled in a cookbook also fall under copyright protection.http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.html