An intermediate court in Huangshi ruled that Qingdao Publishing Group should apologize to plaintiff Chen Xurong, a renowned chef, and pay him more than 2,000 yuan ($313) for violating his copyright.

Chen who has developed a series of recipes based on local cuisine authorized the publishing house to release several cookbooks. Another cookbook published by the same company contained a recipe, the text and graphics of which were almost identical to one in his book.

The court said the recipe at issue in the case is not one that is commonly known among the public, and it contained innovations by the chef.

The court ruled that the company, as a publisher of Chen's books, was aware that he is the creator and still used the words without authorization, which constituted piracy.

(Source: China Daily)