Copyright and takedowns

The catalogue is a mixture, and it is worth being clear about which part is which.

• Recipe data from TheMealDB. Most of the roughly 992 recipes here started as data from TheMealDB, an open recipe database. We imported it, then normalised the ingredients and measurements, rewrote and tidied the steps, mapped each dish to a country and cuisine, and added our own tags, techniques, substitutions and estimated nutrition. TheMealDB is credited as the source of that data, as its terms require. We are grateful for it — this site would not have a catalogue without it.
• Images. Some recipe photos are still served directly from themealdb.com and belong to TheMealDB or the photographers behind it. Others are stored by us. We are working through the catalogue replacing borrowed images with our own artwork.
• Our own work. The pixel artwork, the site design and code, the editorial writing, the country and cuisine pages, the quizzes and the ingredient and technique reference are ours.
• Yours. Community photos, reviews and comments belong to the people who posted them. Submitted recipes belong to their creators. See community guidelines and creator terms.

Cook from it. Print a recipe for your own kitchen. Send a friend a link. Quote a short piece with a credit and a link back.

What we ask you not to do is copy the catalogue wholesale — no scraping, bulk downloading or republishing our pages, artwork or ingredient data, including as training data for a model. If you want to use something more substantially, ask us at hello@iwantsomefood.com. The answer is often yes.

One point that surprises people: a plain list of ingredients and basic steps is generally not something anyone can own — it is a method, and methods are not protected by copyright in Australia. The particular words used to describe them, the photographs and the artwork are protected. That cuts both ways, for us and for you.

Tell us and we will act on it. We would rather fix it quickly than argue about it. Email hello@iwantsomefood.com with the subject line “Copyright”.

The more of this you include, the faster we can act:

• The exact link. The page on our site, and which item on it — the hero photo, a specific paragraph, the artwork.
• What the work is, and where it originally appeared. A link to your own publication of it is ideal.
• Who you are. Your name, and your relationship to the work — the creator, the owner, or someone acting for them.
• Contact details we can reply to.
• A statement that you believe in good faith the material is being used without permission, and that the information you have given is accurate.
• What you want. Removal, a credit, a link, or a licence conversation — they are different outcomes and we cannot guess.

Please do not send a notice about material you do not own or represent. A false or careless claim can have legal consequences for the person making it, and it takes time away from real ones.

1. We confirm we got it, normally within two business days. A real person reads it.
2. If the claim looks straightforward, we remove or hide the material while we look into it. Taking a photo down costs us little; leaving your work up without permission costs you more.
3. We log the case — what was claimed, what we did, and when — so we can be consistent and spot repeat problems.
4. If another user uploaded it, we tell them what was removed and why, without passing on your contact details unless you ask us to or the law requires it.
5. We write back with the outcome, and we aim to have it resolved within ten business days. If it is more complicated than that, we will tell you where it is up to rather than going quiet.

Email hello@iwantsomefood.com explaining why you have the right to use the material — that you created it, licensed it, or that the use is fair dealing. We will look again and, if you are right, put it back and tell you. If the two sides disagree and it cannot be settled between you, the material stays down until it is resolved or a court says otherwise.

An account that repeatedly uploads other people's work will lose access to uploading, and then the account itself.

“I Want Some Food”, the site name and its artwork are ours. Other names and logos that appear on the site belong to their owners and are used to refer to the product or place, not to suggest an endorsement.

This page is about copyright specifically. For anything else, start at contact.