Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Texas

I am creating a culinary book that includes verbatim quotes from famous chef's, do I just need to include their name or do I also need a attribution page to cite the quote as well?


Asked on 7/01/11, 10:51 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Bruce Burdick Burdick Law Firm

It is more complicated than that. You do not need their names or an attribution page. You need a disclaimer to disavow any connection with or sponsorship by the famous chefs and you need to be sure the quotes are very short or you have permission to use them or you face potential copyright infringement problems. Also, if the names or quotes are trademarks, you take a risk by using them in your book if you do not have permission. Anytime you start using someone else's fame and celebrity to peddle your own products (a book in this case) you also risk running afoul of unfair competition laws, as well as copyright and trademark laws. In view of this, I strongly recommend you take your book to an intellectual property law attorney to check out the quotes so you don't end up in legal difficulty. Consider it a necessary cost of business in publishing a book using other people's names and words. It is not possible to accurately evaluate your risk without seeing the names and quotes you intend to use.

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Answered on 7/08/11, 1:49 am


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