Can You Patent a Recipe? How to Protect Your Food Ideas

Recipe patent requirements

The USPTO only issues patents for new inventions, whether they're revolutionary machines, processes, or culinary creations. More specifically, the invention must be novel, non-obvious, and useful. 

Here’s what each patent requirement means: 

Novelty

First, the recipe must be brand new. In other words, no one has created or published the exact same recipe.

To determine if a particular recipe is truly novel, the USPTO examines what’s known as “prior art.” This typically includes any publicly available information about similar recipes or processes, such as: 

• Pending and existing patents
• Published cookbooks, online recipes (video and written), and social media posts
• Academic or food science papers 
• Traditional cooking methods widely understood by the culinary world

If the U.S. Patent Office discovers your recipe or food item already exists in prior art, you most likely won't qualify for patent protection.

Non-obviousness

Even if your recipe is a new one, you cannot obtain a patent if it is obvious. An obvious recipe is one that someone in the food industry would view as a natural extension of an already existing idea. For example, substituting almonds for walnuts in a cookie recipe would not be patentable because it is an obvious improvement or change.

On the other hand, a unique, specific process of preparing food—such as a heating and cooling process with exact temperatures—that unexpectedly preserves the food's shelf life might be patentable.

The key here is the unexpected result. Your recipe needs to achieve something that an experienced food professional wouldn’t ordinarily predict, or it must solve a problem in a way that isn’t an obvious recreation of existing methods. 

Usefulness

A useful recipe means it works and has a clear purpose. By their nature, food recipes typically meet this requirement since they create edible products, improve food production, or enhance quality and variety. 

As long as others can follow your recipe instructions and achieve similar results, your recipe likely is useful. Still, it’s best to consult a knowledgeable attorney to confirm your recipe meets all three requirements, such as LegalZoom’s USPTO-registered patent attorneys. 

Types of patents applicable to recipes

If your recipe meets the USPTO’s requirements, you can decide which type of patent to apply for. Recipes can potentially qualify for utility or design patents, with each type protecting different aspects of your creation. Here’s how each patent works: 

Utility patents

According to the USPTO, an inventor can obtain a utility patent for "any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter.” At its core, a recipe is a process—a set of steps that transforms ingredients into a final product. Likewise, the final product is a composition of matter. 

Here are a couple of utility patent examples for recipes: 

• Pressure-fried chicken (US3245800A). Harland Sanders, better known as Colonel Sanders, patented his famous pressure-cooking method for KFC fried chicken. 
• Cereal bar formula (US7118774B2). Kraft Foods patented a unique binding process for cereal bars that maintains a chewy texture without becoming sticky or crumbly. 

Utility patents are typically more relevant for recipes, as they can protect your cooking method and the resulting food product. During the life of your patent (up to 20 years), no one can use your recipe commercially without permission.

Design patents

Design patents protect “any new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture,” as defined by the USPTO. In the food industry, these patents typically cover distinctive shapes or surface designs that make products recognizable, such as:

• Pizza crust designs (USD548426-S). Pizza Hut® patented a distinctive crust shape that’s visible around the pizza’s edges. 
• Holiday pasta shapes (USD513551S1). Kraft Foods secured a patent for their festive jingle bell-shaped pasta design. 

Design patents last 15 years and make more sense if you want to protect your food’s appearance. However, keep in mind that design patents only cover the design elements of your recipe rather than how it works. 

How to patent a recipe in 5 steps

The patent process isn’t much different than developing an intricate and specialized recipe. You need precise measurements, descriptions, and terminology to get the end result you want—and even then, most patent applications face at least one rejection. 

While you can file a patent application yourself, it’s highly recommended to work with an attorney to avoid common mistakes. Here are the steps you’ll need to take: 

1. Determine what you want to patent

As we’ve discussed, not all food recipes or ideas can be patented. Before diving into the process, you need to clearly identify and articulate what makes your culinary invention patentable. 

Is it a unique preparation method? A completely new blend of ingredients that creates an unprecedented result? Or maybe an eye-catching design that’s never been applied to a culinary dish? 

You should also consider whether your recipe meets the requirements to receive a patent, especially that it’s non-obvious. For instance, swapping chocolate for flour to make a cake taste more like chocolate probably wouldn’t qualify since that’s an obvious outcome.

On the other hand, if your recipe involves a new melting process that makes chocolate-based goods stay fresh twice as long, or develops an ingredient combination that creates an entirely unexpected texture, you might have something patentable.

2. Conduct a thorough patent search

You might think your idea is a new one, but you still need to double-check. The best way to determine if your idea is new is to check if anyone already holds a patent for it, starting with searching for patents through the USPTO database. 

You should utilize a variety of keywords, some broad and others more narrow, when conducting your patent search to ensure that you uncover any patents that may already exist for your idea.

However, your patent search shouldn’t stop there. Keep in mind that prior art includes “information known publicly before the effective filing date of a U.S. patent application,” so you want to be absolutely sure that you conduct a thorough recipe search. 

Here are some other sources to explore: 

• Scientific journals and food science publications
• Industry trade magazines and cookbooks
• Restaurant menus 
• Cooking shows and demonstrations
• Food blogs and online recipe collections

Moreover, you can use LegalZoom’s Patent Search to look into pending and existing patents registered with the USPTO. 

3. Prepare and file your patent application

Once you determine that your food recipe meets the requirements for a patent, the next step is to prepare and file a patent application with the USPTO. This must be done within 365 days of the first public disclosure of the food idea or you lose the ability to patent it. A public disclosure is broad for foods—just serving your dish at a public event may be enough to start the 365-day countdown.

One of the most important parts of your patent application is the description of your recipe. Your description should read more like a science book than a recipe you'd find in a cooking magazine. It should contain details regarding chemical processes and composition and be broken down to the molecular level. 

Of course, this is not an easy task for the average person without scientific training, so you may want to hire a patent attorney to assist with writing the description. In addition to the description of the recipe, you also need to complete related USPTO forms and pay a filing fee (discussed more later).

4. Wait for approval and next steps

Once you file your application, you’ll wait for a response from the USPTO, which typically takes several months. While waiting, you can use the term "Patent Pending" on your food products to provide notice that you are seeking a patent and deter others from attempting to utilize your idea without your authorization.

If the USPTO patent examiner finds any issues with your application, they’ll send a notice known as an office action and explain how to proceed. This is a normal part of the process, and the examiner might request the following: 

• Clarification of certain patent claim(s)
• Additional documentation
• Modifications to address potential conflicts with existing patents
• More specific descriptions of your preparation or cooking process

Keep in mind that you only have a limited window to respond to these requests, and, in some cases, you might face multiple rounds of office actions before final approval. If you have any questions on how to respond, you should reach out to a patent attorney immediately to avoid further delays to your application. 

5. Pay final fees

Finally, you’ll need to pay issue fees to make your patent official once it’s approved. The exact amounts can vary, but the USPTO will provide specific instructions and deadlines. Moreover, you’ll need to pay utility patent maintenance fees no later than 3.5, 7.5, and 11.5 years after the date of issue, but this doesn’t apply to design patents. 

How much does it cost to patent a recipe?

You should expect to pay at least a few thousand dollars to $20,000 or more to patent a recipe. This includes USPTO filing fees, examination costs, and issue fees, which depend on your entity size and whether you file a utility or design patent application. 

While optional, you might also pay for attorney fees ($300–$400/hour), professional patent searches, and technical descriptions or drawings. Altogether, the process typically takes at least 2–3 years, so you should plan ahead and budget accordingly before proceeding. 

On the other hand, you can work with LegalZoom to submit your design or utility patent application and get a more predictable upfront cost, starting at $999 + federal filing fees. 

Other ways to protect your recipe

Patents aren’t the only way to protect your recipes. In fact, many entrepreneurs and food businesses use various types of intellectual property protection, including the following:  

Registered trademarks

A trademark protects names, brands, logos, and other distinctive identifiers for your food product or business. While a trademark can’t protect the recipe itself, you can protect other valuable aspects of your brand, such as: 

• Your recipe’s name 
• Distinctive packaging designs
• Special logos or symbols that identify your recipe and business 

Like patents, the USPTO handles trademark registration, and you can get started through LegalZoom to prepare and submit your application. 

Copyrights

Copyright protection automatically applies to original works, including written recipes. However, copyright law only protects the way you write about your recipe, such as the descriptions, photographs, or detailed instructions. 

While not required, registering with the U.S. Copyright Office often makes it easier to enforce your rights if ever needed. It’s also less time-consuming and expensive than patents—for reference, most people spend less than 15 minutes on copyright applications through LegalZoom.  

Trade secret protection

A trade secret is confidential business information that gives your recipe a competitive advantage. Unlike patents, trade secrets don’t expire or have a registration process. Still, you need to take steps to protect your recipe under trade secret law, which typically includes the following: 

• Limiting access to the recipe details
• Using nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) 
• Implementing security and containment measures, including confidentiality training for employees

However, if someone independently discovers or reverse-engineers your recipe, they’re legally allowed to use it. 

FAQs

Can you patent a food idea? 

No, you can’t patent an idea, even if it’s a brilliant food idea. You’ll first need to develop it into a concrete (but not typical) recipe with clear steps and measurable results. 

What kind of recipes are most likely to be patented?

Recipes with the best chance of patent approval typically involve some innovative production process or create unexpected results. This might be a new preservation method, an ingredient combination that solves a specific problem, or a preparation process that changes the experience of consuming the food. 

Will my patented recipe be kept private?

No, patent applications become public record and describe your recipe in detail. If privacy is a concern, you might consider protecting your recipe through other means, such as a trade secret. 

What happens if someone uses my patented recipe without permission?

If you find out that someone else used or infringed upon your patent recipe, you should contact a lawyer immediately. They can help you stop unauthorized use through cease-and-desist letters, possibly licensing agreements, and, if needed, a lawsuit.