By Nicholas Liau and Paul Kallenbach
Bill Granger, an Australian chef, has written a series of very popular cookbooks over the years which have been published by Murdoch Books (Murdoch). Murdoch published a series of cookbooks entitled Best of Bill and Bill Cooks for Kids, which were compilations of recipes that had been previously published by Murdoch in Bill Granger's other cookbooks.
In May 2012, Bill Granger commenced court proceedings against Murdoch for copyright infringement, on the basis that he had not given Murdoch permission to add his recipes to the compilation books. Murdoch claimed that under the terms of its agreement with Mr Granger, it was able to re-publish the recipes in the compilation cookbooks, and that its actions were legitimate because it was still paying Mr Granger royalties for the use of the recipes.
This month, the parties reached a settlement agreement before the case was heard by the Federal Court. Murdoch has admitted that it infringed copyright in Mr Granger's recipes by publishing the compilation cookbooks. It also admitted that it had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law, as the publication of the compilation cookbooks suggested that Mr Granger had personally selected the recipes, or at least approved of their publication.
Murdoch will now be required to stop selling the compilation cookbooks – it must immediately cease selling the cookbooks in e-book format, but it has until 1 October to sell any remaining paper copies of the books. It will also be required to continue paying royalties on these sales.
As well as being exciting for its involvement of a celebrity chef, this case also shows that companies should be wary about what they do with the intellectual property of others. And particularly where a licence agreement is involved, as was the case here, it is important to understand what can and can't be done under that agreement.
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