The Cooks Source infringement controversy is an Internet phenomenon which occurred in November 2010, when Cooks Source, a free, advertising-supported publication distributed in the New England region of the United States, became the center of a copyright infringement dispute after the magazine reprinted an online article without permission of the author. The controversy was fueled by social media and crowdsourced investigations finding additional alleged infringement and plagiarism. The incident became an international topic of news and analysis, which expanded to become an internet meme. On the issue of copyright, the incident illustrates that "masses of Internet users are very good at finding examples of copyright infringement, which counterbalances how easy the Internet has made plagiarism in the first place." At the same time, the response by the Cooks Source editor "may well become a digital textbook example of how not to respond to grievances in the internet age."Smith, Matt (November 5, 2010). Cooks Source magazine creates internet firestorm with story on apple pie. City Pages The incident was named Journalistic Error of the Year for 2010 by Craig Silverman on his website Regret the Error.Silverman, Craig. Crunks 2010: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections. Regret the Error, 2010-12-08. The fallout from the controversy drove Cooks Source out of business within two weeks of it breaking in full.
Background As reported by Dan Crowley of the local Daily Hampshire Gazette, Cooks Source was founded in 1997 by Judith D. Griggs, a former town plannerHamel, Chris (December 12, 2007). Warren to seek town planner. The Republican and conservation agent,Devlin, Emily (August 8, 2009). Angry words exchanged at meeting. Sentinel & EnterpriseDevlin, Emily (August 19, 2009). Agent fired over heated remarks. Sentinel & Enterprise who had previously been art director and editor of several small magazines. The magazine stated its goal was "to help educate readers about sustainable sources of foods and products, farms, cooking, restaurants and businesses," and to provide a marketing tool for small businesses and farms which create and sell food for local businesses and consumers. At the time of the incident, Cooks Source was published by Cooks Source Publications in the second-floor office of a rented duplex in Sunderland, Massachusetts, almost north of Springfield. Griggs, who was 59 years old at the time of the incident, hand-delivered the monthly publication with her adult daughter along a 2,000-mile distribution route to locations in western New England, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and some of New Hampshire. The magazine's circulation varied, but it was under 10,000 a month.
Griggs rose to internet notoriety on November 4, 2010, after it became known that an article published on page 10 in the October 2010 Cooks Source issue infringed on the copyright of Monica Gaudio, the piece's author.Pegoraro, Rob (November 4, 2010). Cooks Source magazine masters new recipe: How to annoy the Internet. The Washington Post In 2005, Gaudio had published the copyrighted piece under the title "A Tale of Two Tarts" on a website devoted to medieval cookery.Gaudio, Monica (2005). A Tale of Two Tarts. via Gode Cookery, accessed November 14, 2010
Gaudio was credited in Cooks Source for the 1,300-word piece, which was retitled "As American As Apple Pie — Isn't!" and was revised from Gaudio's original in places. Griggs neither paid Gaudio nor notified her when the piece had run.Lynch, Rene (November 4, 2010). Daily Dish: Cooks Source magazine vs. the Web. Los Angeles TimesDiceCast Episode 12: Interview with Monica Gaudio (by Polymancer Studios). November 15, 2010 Gaudio notified Griggs of the infringement and asked for an apology and a small donation to the Columbia School of Journalism (Gaudio chose the Columbia School of Journalism so Cooks Source could easily comply with her request; she has stated that she is neither a journalist herself nor is she affiliated with that institution). The ensuing response by Griggs "has become the stuff of internet legend,"Silverman, Craig (November 12, 2010). Newsmangled: Cooks Source's recipe for disaster. Toronto Star and said in part:
But honestly Monica, the web is considered 'public domain' and you should be happy we just didn't 'lift' your whole article and put someone else's name on it! It happens a lot, clearly more than you are aware of, especially on college campuses, and the workplace. If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally. Now it will work well for your portfolio. For that reason, I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain, albeit for such a fine (and very wealthy!) institution. We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me! I never charge young writers for advice or rewriting poorly written pieces, and have many who write for me... ALWAYS for free!Gaudio, Monica (November 3, 2010). Copyright Infringement and Me. LiveJournalBercovici, Jeff (November 4, 2010). Cooking Magazine Gets Poached Egg on the Face. Forbes
Online response Griggs' response, particularly her statement that all web content is considered public domain, was publicized by a number of online celebrities, including Nick Mamatas, Wil Wheaton, John Scalzi, Neil Gaiman, and Warren Ellis.Staff report (November 5, 2010). Blogger victim of infringement wins support. CBC News The tone of Griggs' response and her erroneous claims led to what Gaudio described as "nerd rage".Castillo, Michelle (November 5, 2010). Exclusive: Cooks Source Writer Marvels at the 'Nerd Rage,' Keeps Waiting For That Apology. Time The magazine's Facebook page received a slew of mocking messages.Flaherty, Bob (November 5, 2010). Cooks Source has blogger boiling mad. Daily Hampshire Gazette In less than 24 hours, a list of the magazine's advertisers was generated and the advertisers contacted, with secondary campaigns beginning to reward advertisers who had pulled their ads from the magazine.Jasper, Josh (November 4, 2010). Copyright for Dummies. Publishers Weekly One blog campaigned for making "griggs" a verb meaning "to take something without permission then demand compensation from the victim".Wendell, Sarah (November 4, 2010). Judith Griggs: The Google Is Our Friend, Not Hers. Smart Bitches, Trashy Books The hashtags #buthonestlymonica and #crookssource went viral on Twitter.
Cooks Sources web hosting company, Intuit, experienced an outage on November 4, prompting speculation that a denial-of-service attack aimed at Cooks Source may have been the reason.Mills, Elinor (November 4, 2010). Attack cause Intuit Web-hosting service outage? CNET Several parodic Twitter accounts and a bogus Facebook page titled Cooks Source Mag were created on November 5, containing additional inflammatory statements purportedly by the magazine staff.Tiku, Nitasha (November 5, 2010). After Plagiarizing Blogger's Story, Cooks Source Magazine Pretends Its Facebook Page Was 'Hacked.' New YorkWhitney, Lance (November 5, 2010). Lifting of blogger's story triggers online furor. CNET It also inspired editorials by Robert X. CringelyCringely, Robert X. (November 8, 2010). InfoWorld and John Birmingham,Birmingham, John (November 8, 2010). The cook and the thieves: a win for internet IP. Sydney Morning Herald Downfall parodies,Nemspy (November 6, 2010). Cooks Source editor, Hitler, reacts to claims of copyright violation. YouTubeNeutralityChecker (November 6, 2010). Hitler's Reaction on Cooks Source's edition of "Mein Kampf."YouTube a tribute song,Jeremy, Arlo (November 8, 2010). But Honestly, Monica (A Song Cover). YouTube and a satirical proposed apology composed entirely of unattributed famous quotations.Greenlee, Steve (November 8, 2010). Unoriginal thoughts: An apology? We took the words right out of their mouths. The Boston Globe Cringely later named it fourth among the Top 10 Dumbest Tech Moves of 2010.Cringely, Robert X. (December 30, 2011). Top 10 Dumbest Tech Moves of 2010. PCWorld
Gaudio said she never intended the online response to go as far as it had, but she expected mainstream media coverage once Gaiman re-tweeted it. She said she knew one or more Cooks Source advertisers had been contacted, but she did not intend for any small businesses or people to be harmed or harassed. She said she found many of the Facebook comments amusing.
Response by Cooks Source Gaudio did not receive a direct response from Griggs or Cooks Source Magazine in relation to the affair after Gaudio posted about their email communication.Gaudio, Monica (November 4, 2010). Quick update!! LiveJournal
On November 9, the Cooks Source website was updated with an unsigned statement indicating Cooks Source had complied with Gaudio's requests for redress and were changing their business practices.Pace, Gina (November 10, 2010). Cooks Source Apologizes for Plagiarizing Article. CBS NewsStewart, Doug and French, Sarah (November 10, 2010). Cooks Source Plagiarism Case with accompanying article. Fox CT (via YouTube) Gaudio was unable to confirm immediately if the requested donation had in fact been made.Whitney, Lance (November 11, 2010). Magazine apologizes for lifting blogger's story. CNET NPR pop culture writer/host Linda Holmes characterized the statement as "a very strange semi-apology", adding, "It actually sounds a lot like the e-mail Gaudio got in the first place: defiant, sure of its correctness, and, in the end, kind of baffling."Holmes, Linda (November 9, 2010). 'Cooks Source' Update: Magazine (Sort Of) Issues Weirdest Semi-Apology Ever. NPR New York declared the publication's apparent retention of Griggs "a victory for passive-aggressive e-mail writers everywhere."Tiku, Natasha (November 9, 2010).Cooks Source Is Sorry It Displeased You, Oh Wise and Powerful Internet. New York The Cooks Source statement was quickly parodiedSheresh, Beth (November 10, 2010). Cooks Source statement: slightly corrected. Kitchen Mage and mocked.Nolan, Hamilton (November 10, 2010). Parsing the Cooks Source Apology. Gawker John Scalzi graded the apology a D+, adding, "This is the apology of someone who is sorry she got caught, not the apology of someone who feels she has done wrong."Scalzi, John (November 10, 2010). Cooks Source Apology. Whatever Robert X. Cringely called the statement "one of the oddest things I've ever read."Cringely, Robert X. (November 13, 2010). Showdown in Crazytown, featuring Steve Ballmer, Congress, and Cooks Source. PC World
In her first interview after the incident, Griggs said she had received hundreds of emails and disconnected her phone after getting over 100 calls. Though the November issue was scheduled for delivery, Griggs said, "I don't know if I'm going to continue Cooks Source. At this point, it's looking doubtful." The article elaborated that Cooks Source commonly received cookbooks and recipes from publishers and that its content was routinely duplicated from those sources, sometimes with express permission.Crowley, Dan (November 12, 2010). Cooks Source publisher admits mistake, describes struggles with copyright issue. Daily Hampshire Gazette Shortly after the interview's publication, Gaudio was able to confirm Griggs' donation, and therefore considered the matter "all resolved, at least to my satisfaction."Gaudio, Monica (November 14, 2010). What a long, strange ride this has been. LiveJournal