Blogger Challenges Food Network’s “Snow Globe Cupcake” Recipe

A pastry chef and food blogger has filed a copyright-­infringement
lawsuit against the owner of Food Network, alleging the channel
copied her video tutorial for “Snow Globe Cupcakes.” LaBau v.
Television Food Network G.P., No. 14­-4077 (C.D. Cal., filed June
1, 2017). Elizabeth LaBau, owner of a website that provides recipes
and tutorials for desserts, asserts that she created a tutorial for
making edible snow globes using gelatin sheets and balloons in
2015, and the post caught enough attention for the cupcakes to
become her “signature recipe.” In November 2016, she created a
tutorial video explaining how to create the Snow Globe Cupcakes,
then learned in December 2016 that Food Network had published
a similar video illustrating how to prepare the cupcakes. “The
Food Network video copied numerous copyrightable elements of
Plaintiff’s work precisely, including but not limited to choices of
shots, camera angles, colors, and lighting, textual descriptors, and
other artistic and expressive elements of Plaintiff’s work,” the
complaint alleges. LaBau seeks an injunction, damages and
attorney’s fees for an allegation of copyright infringement.

Issue 637