In April 2025, Australian food blogger Nagi Maehashi (RecipeTin Eats) publicly accused influencer and baker Brooke Bellamy (Brooki Bakehouse) of plagiarising several recipes in Bellamy’s debut cookbook Bake with Brooki. The core of the allegation? That Bellamy copied Maehashi’s recipes nearly word-for-word, including identical ingredients and instructions, particularly for a caramel slice and a baklava. This controversy has reignited an important question: are recipes protected by copyright in Australia? The answer lies in a complex mix of copyright, patent, trademark, design, and trade secret laws.
Maehashi claimed she raised the issue privately with Bellamy’s publisher months earlier, but went public after no resolution was reached. Following this, U.S. blogger Sally McKenney (Sally’s Baking Addiction) made a similar allegation regarding her vanilla cake recipe. Bellamy denied the claims, citing common baking standards and technique overlaps. Penguin Random House also rejected the allegations but later revised the cookbook, suggesting some implicit acknowledgment of the controversy.
This incident sparked a broader discussion about ownership of recipes: Can you legally protect a recipe in Australia? The answer lies in a complex mix of copyright, patent, trademark, design, and trade secret laws.
Are Recipes Protected by Copyright in Australia? Expression vs Ideas
In Australia, copyright protects the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. This means that while a written recipe description can be protected as a literary work, the underlying formula, ingredients and methods, typically cannot.
So, if someone copies the exact wording of a recipe, there may be grounds for copyright infringement. But if the same ingredients and cooking method are expressed differently, legal action is less likely to succeed. Moral rights, such as the right to attribution, may offer a layer of protection if an author is not credited. However, enforcement in the food space is rare and difficult unless the copying is very close to verbatim.
Are Recipes Protected by Copyright in Australia? Why Patents Rarely Apply
In theory, you can patent a food invention, but only if it involves a novel, non-obvious and inventive process or composition. Standard recipes, even with unique ingredient combinations, generally fail the patent threshold. Australian patent law explicitly excludes mere mixtures of known ingredients or simple food preparation methods.
A patent might apply if a recipe involves an innovative chemical process or delivers a surprising functional result. But most chefs don’t patent recipes due to cost, complexity, and the fact the recipe would then be published.
Are Recipes Protected by Copyright in Australia? The Role of Trademarks
Trademarks protect brand identifiers like names and logos, not the content of a recipe. You could register a trademark for the name of a signature dish (e.g., “Cronut”), but others could still cook and sell a similar product under a different name.
This is a common strategy in the hospitality space: protect the branding, not the substance. Trademark protection can be powerful commercially, but it doesn’t stop others from replicating the taste or process.
Design Rights: Limited Use in Food
Design rights protect the visual appearance of a product. While it’s possible to register a food item’s unique shape or appearance (e.g., a chocolate mold or cookie cutter), the everyday presentation of food or the “plating” of a dish is generally too transient or functional to qualify.
Thus, design rights are unlikely to apply to traditional recipes, unless the product is manufactured in a fixed, novel form.
Trade Secrets: The Practical Solution
Trade secret protection is often the most effective way to protect a recipe. Unlike copyright or patents, it requires no registration. The law protects information that is commercially valuable and reasonably kept secret.
Famous examples include the formulas for Coca-Cola or KFC’s seasoning blend. However, once a recipe is published or made public (like in a cookbook or blog), it loses this protection.
For food businesses, this often means keeping special recipes in-house, sharing them only with trusted staff under confidentiality agreements.
Limitations and Legal Reality
The reality in Australia is that recipes are only loosely protected by Intellectual Property law. Copyright is “thin,” patents rarely apply, and trademarks and designs don’t cover the functional parts of a recipe. Trade secrets only work if the recipe stays secret.
Courts have not yet seen many (if any) recipe copyright cases in Australia. Similar cases overseas often fail unless there is near-identical copying. Even if a legal claim is viable, litigation is expensive and slow.
In practice, chefs and publishers tend to rely on brand loyalty and professional ethics rather than legal enforcement. The Brooke Bellamy case shows that public opinion can deliver more immediate consequences than legal ones. Bellamy faced reputational damage, critical online reviews, and business fallout before any formal legal decision.
Takeaways for Food Professionals and Creators
- If you’re publishing recipes, use your own language and avoid close copying, even for classics.
- If you’re concerned about copying, rely on trade secrets where possible and limit public access.
- Don’t expect copyright to protect your recipe unless it is substantially original and copied almost exactly.
- Consider trademark protection for your brand or dish name.
- In most cases, focus on building a distinctive brand and loyal following, legal action is unlikely to provide a quick or easy remedy.
Conclusion
The law does not protect recipes in the way many assume. You can’t patent your chocolate cake or trademark your lasagna. But you can protect your words, your brand, and your business practices. The Brooki Bakehouse controversy highlights how reputation, ethics, and professionalism often matter more than strict legal rights in the culinary world.
For food creators, the best defence is originality, transparency, and crediting inspiration where due. In the kitchen, as in law, it’s best to play fair and stay sharp.
Jake McKinley notes that this article is written for the purpose of providing generalised information and not to provide specialised legal advice. If you require qualified legal advice on anything mentioned in this article, our experienced team of solicitors at Jake McKinley are here to help. Please get in touch with us on 02 9232 8033 today to make an enquiry.
