Pizza Today - January 2019 - 18

Man on the Street
SCOTT WIENER

Sharing
is Caring
Stop obsessing over the
ownership of your ideas

izzerias have been obsessed
with ownership since the
dawn of time. When the
first American pizzeria opened in
1905, it wasn't called Lombardi's.
The front window said "Pizzeria
Napoletana," but locals called it
Lombardi's because that was the
name of the guy behind the counter.
People even attribute ownership to
pizzerias that don't have possessive
names (Gnocco in the East Village incorrectly becomes Gnocco's;
Lucali in Brooklyn falsely becomes
Lucali's) because we customers like
the idea of a personality behind a
pizza. But sometimes the concept
of ownership overstays its welcome
and becomes distracting for operators who think they're under attack
from all sides.
I had an interesting conversation
a few weeks ago with a friend who
was complaining that a pizzeria
across town stole his idea for a pizza
with a unique topping combination. He had received a serious
amount of press for his pizza and
didn't want someone else trading on his creativity. I completely
understand the frustration, but
worry that something like this can
become an unnecessary roadblock.
First of all, nobody owns a topping
combination. Even if you're the first
to market, it still doesn't mean you
have any right to prevent others
from copying you. Beyond that, it's
entirely possible that someone with

1 8 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / J A N UA R Y 2 0 1 9

less media savvy made a pizza with
your topping combination before you
did. Frank Pepe's is famous for its
clam pizza, but it's highly likely that
someone else made it first. Being the
first to make something gives you
a head start, but that doesn't mean
you're the exclusive owner of the idea.
SOME OWNERS AND CHEFS THINK
IT'S A LEGAL ISSUE, BUT THAT'S
ALMOST NEVER THE CASE. Just last

week I received a call from another
pizzeria owner claiming a recently
fired employee was preparing to open
a rival pizzeria with stolen recipes.
The owner was understandably upset,
claiming not only a moral violation
but a legal one as well. There's no
question as to the moral problems
with directly copying a product
that you did not create, but the law
may take a different point of view.
I'm no lawyer, but I do know that
a trademark would only apply to a
name or image most of the time. If
you register a trademark for "Mega
Meatza Pizza," you could theoretically protect that. Copyright protects

an expression but not facts. The law
currently views a list of ingredients
paired with directions as a set of facts
and not a piece of artistic expression.
A book containing recipes can be
copyrighted, but not the recipe itself.
Rather than wasting time being
frustrated about someone using your
idea, just remember that we all make
use of ideas that came before us. You
didn't invent dough and you didn't
pioneer the idea of putting sauce and
cheese on top of it. Someone taught
you a better fermentation technique
and stretching method. Someone
taught you the best way to crush
whole tomatoes. Your pizza is nothing but an amalgamation of influences. Focus on making your pizza
the best it can be and let less creative
operators pick the pieces that suit
them. If you're really as good as you
think you are, they won't beat you in
the long run. ■
SCOTT WIENER is the founder of Scott's
Pizza Tours in New York City and
SliceOutHunger.org.

http://www.SliceOutHunger.org http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - January 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - January 2019