Jessica Seinfeld wins cookbook copyright lawsuit

By Matthew Belloni

Cookbook author Jessica Seinfeld has prevailed in a copyright lawsuit brought by a woman who claimed Seinfeld ripped off several sections of her bestseller "Deceptively Delicious."

In the decision, issued today in New York, Federal judge Laura Taylor Swain denied the copyright claim brought by Missy Chase Lapine, former publisher of Eating Well magazine and author of "The Sneaky Chef." Lapine filed suit in January 2008 alleging "Deceptively Delicious," which explains how to hide healthy ingredients in foods that kids will like, had "brazenly plagiarized 'The Sneaky Chef,' even misappropriating the book's trademark."

But Judge Swain shot down Lapine's theory, ruling that the two books were very different:

• Plaintiffs’ alleged similarities, with respect to the individual elements and the order of those elements, are insufficient to sustain their contention that "The Sneaky Chef" and "Deceptively Delicious" are substantially similar within the meaning of copyright law. The similarities identified by Plaintiffs are the result of the similar medium of expression used (cookbooks) or of the similar subject matter that both cookbooks address (hiding healthy foods in kid-friendly foods). Stock elements resulting from the initial choice of subject matter are not protectible.

The court goes on:

• Plaintiffs’ description of the allegedly protected expression – “giving instructions for making vegetable purees in advance, storing them for future use, and then using them in specially created recipes which include the pre-made purees as ingredients” – is so abstract as clearly to fall into the category of unprotectible process or idea. It remains nothing more than the very idea that Plaintiffs recognized as unprotectible: hiding vegetables in foods children enjoy.

The Seinfelds' lawyer, Orin Snyder at Gibson Dunn, gave us this statement:

• The ruling in Jessica's favor is unequivocal, dismissing every claim made by the plaintiff against her and confirming that this opportunistic and meritless lawsuit never should have been brought in the first place. No one copied anything from the plaintiff -- not Jessica and not HarperCollins. Jessica created her best-selling cookbook in her own kitchen and from her own experiences. The federal judge ruled that "no reasonable fact finder could conclude" that copying occurred here given that the works are "very different" and that Jessica’s book “has a completely different feel and appears to be directed to a different audience.
• We are pleased that the court saw through this sham and dismissed the baseless copyright claim. The court dismissed the claim against Jerry, declining to hear it on procedural grounds. As we have said all along, Jerry has a constitutional right to tell jokes and perform satire.

A separate defamation claim against Jerry Seinfeld for comments he made on David Letterman's talk show about Lapine was dismissed from Federal Court but can be refiled in state court. Jerry called the woman a "nut," among other things, but defamation is a state law claim so Lapine will have to re-file the case if she chooses to go forward.