By Jordan Heller
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A federal appeals court ruled in favor of Jessica Seinfeld, wife of comedian Jerry, in a trademark dispute over a cookbook on Wednesday.
Lawyers for Missy Chase Lapine, author of the “Sneaky Chef,” accused the Seinfeld Misses of ripping off Lapine’s parenting cookbook with a knockoff entitled “Deceptively Delicious.”
The two books show parents how to sneak veggies into kid-friendly foods, with the clandestine use of vegetable purees. But the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found no merit to Lapine’s claim — “stockpiling vegetable purees for covert use in children’s food is an idea that cannot be copyrighted,” the judge wrote. The ruling further stated that the “total concept and feel” of the two books were very different.
"As we have said from the beginning, nothing was copied from Missy Chase Lapine and her baseless claims against Jessica were an abuse of the judicial system," Orin Snyder, attorney for Jessica Seinfeld, said in a statement to DNAinfo.
But the Lapine-Seinfeld feud is far from over.
"This is one battle in a larger dispute," Howard Miller, attorney for Ms. Lapine, told DNAinfo.
The “Sneaky Chef” author is suing husband Jerry for defamation in New York State Court, for an appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman” where the comedian derided Lapine as a “wacko,” and an “angry and hysterical woman."
"The defamation action against Jerry Seinfeld has never been ruled on," said Miller. "And that case continues to move forward."
