Intellectual Property Protection for Secret Recipes
As a Phoenix business lawyer that represents more than a few clients in the food industry, I'm often asked by restauranteurs, craft brewers, and aspiring sauce/dressing tycoons how to best protect their secret recipe for...well, you name it. As with most things in the law, the answer is rarely one-size-fits-all and depends on a variety of factors and the client's objectives and business strategy. This article summarizes a few of the most common questions I'm asked on the subject, as well as my general answers: Why not patent my recipe? Patent laws are commonly used to protect inventions and processes and usually are not the best approach for protecting your secret recipe. First off, as there are really only so many ways you can formulate spaghetti sauce or brew a…