Discussion:
What is the name of your state?I am in Missouri. My question is this.
I am planning on publishing an ebook with nutritional data including the carbohydrate counts of various brands of beer. I would like to use the nutritional data listed in another publication. The publication says it's copyrighted however I have a difficult time believing that it's possible to copyright nutritional data such as a listing of the carb counts of various brands of beer or wine. I could believe that it's possible to copyright the layout or design of the data and possibly any text related to the listing of the data. What do you think? I don't want to get sued by anyone. It's my understanding that recipes also can not be copyrighted. Is this true? If so, how much less can nutritional data relating to a food or beverage?? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Beth
Answer:
You are right, the nutritional data cannot be copyrighted. "Facts" are not copyrightable. You are also correct in saying that, in general, the format and layout is copyrightable, but the underlying facts are not.
I don't want to get sued by anyone. Well, you can't do anything about THAT, but by limiting yourself to just using the facts, and not the layout and formating, at least you make a lawsuit unwinnable!