Question:
Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica Seinfeld, was sued for copyright infringement and plagiarism over her cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, by Missy Chase Lapine. Lapine is the author of The Sneaky Chef, a cookbook with a concept similar to Seinfeld's. Both cookbooks are based on sneaking healthy ingredients into food prepared for children so that children will inadvertently eat foods they otherwise would be opposed to. The goal of both cookbooks is for children to eat more healthfully. Lapine wrote her cookbook in 2007; Seinfeld's came out in 2008. Seinfeld argued that many cookbooks have a goal not only to help individuals eat healthier, but to get children to eat healthier. Lapine later added a count to her complaint, stating that Jerry Seinfeld launched a verbal attack on her by calling her a "wacko"during a guest appearance on David Letterman's TV show. How do you think the judge ruled with respect to the plaintiff's claims of copyright infringement? Do you think the idea of sneaking healthy foods into children's meals is so obscure that Seinfeld was indeed guilty of plagiarism and copyright infringement? Missy Chase Lapine v. Jessica Seinfeld et al., 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 8778 (2d Cir., Apr. 28, 2010).