text: i am looking for any info on copyright laws for recipes, products (tortes,pies) or ideas involving baked goods i am a pastry chef 18+ yrs, and someone wants to start a bakery using my ideas etc...but she also wants anything that we use in production to be hers ( the bakery's ) with out letting me use it to make a profit in the future.an example would  be like this... we want to add a new torte to the production, so i come up with the recipe, flavor combination and overall design and look of the new torte. i then proceed to teach all of the employees how to efficently produce the torte for sales. say, i might do this hundreds times over. next... it's a big hit, we make tons of money, maybe i have enough to take the plunge in my own sm business. but... i can't use anything i've created in the past because now it "belongs" to her company... how do i protect myself????  recipes, creations of flavors, designes,are all being questioned. she ownes the company, but i would be the company. can i legally protect myself for a future business that i may own someday? thanks aj if you work for her then what you make is legally hers unless you have a contract stating otherwise.  remember you're not making the idea as yourself, but as an employee.    it sounds like you want her to take the risk, but then you profit if it works.  i'm sorry but i don't think that's right.  if you came up with an idea and tried it out on your own and not at someone elses bakery i'd feel that you should profit from it.    bottom line is if you're not the one willing to take the risk then you shouldn't be the one to profit.  unless she's willing to allow you to keep your products then i'd find another way to produce them.  open your own business and find bakeries willing to be sold "use" rights for your tort, etc  in this way you don't need to be making them and you clearly own the rights to the recipe.  you could then even offer to "consult" with the employees on how to actually cook them, etc.