On a similar note to kitagirl's stolen photo......how do you guys feel about a cake design being copied, almost exactly, and then placed on your website as your own....or at least with NO mention that the design is someone else's?
I just happen to come across that and I don't know how I felt about it, except now I feel that the "borrower" isn't very creative.
What do you guys think?
I think if you post cake pics online that you have to know that there will be people who will try to copy it, probably, or at the very least use it for inspiration to create something of their own design. But if someone strictly copies and tries to recreate a specific cake, I believe they MUST give credit to the original designer. Like here on CC...even if someone can't remember exactly who made the original cake that they 'worked from', they usually at least say that it's not their original design, that it was done by someone else & they apologize for not remembering that person's name or website or business or whatever. That's just the right thing to do...IMHO.
i agree with you jenn, you should give credit where it's due, totally!
i mean after all we are all on here to help each other and posting our pics and helping people come up with an idea is what we are all about. if i am looking for a particular cake then i will search on here and usually take something from different cakes and make my own creation... it usually just makes us get the creative juices flowing. 
Gosh, on the last b-day cake I made for a family member, I was hitting bottom on ideas. I found this site & many people responded to my plea for ideas within 2 hrs. I couldn't take total credit for it because it was a compilation of lots of ideas from lots of others. However, I didn't follow all of the ideas either--some because of time limitations & some because of my skill level (or lack of).
I just hope no one was offended. 
I noticed that several well-known cake designers made their own cake and took a photo of it, then underneath the photo is their statement that they got the inspiration from Colette's book. It wasn't the same color, design, or anything like that, but it was the whimsical cake that she got the idea from Colette's book. I don't really think that's bad because this person is giving Colette's a credit though.
On a similar note to kitagirl's stolen photo......how do you guys feel about a cake design being copied, almost exactly, and then placed on your website as your own....or at least with NO mention that the design is someone else's?
I just happen to come across that and I don't know how I felt about it, except now I feel that the "borrower" isn't very creative.
What do you guys think?
Just to clarify, because I don't want to imply something different than what I mean...
In my first post, I meant it directly in relation to people who almost exactly obviously copy others designs and then post them to their websites and claim them as their own original designs...or don't refer to the fact that the original design came from someone else. I just used the example of how most people here at CC give credit to others, when necessary, when they post their cakes here to say that it is what I think people should do if they copy cakes and post to their business website. IMHO, copying or using cakes here at CC for inspiration on cakes for family, etc. is different....we aren't posting those cakes to a business website & claiming that we came up with the design all on our own. I think taking lots of different cakes and ideas and making something up from them actually does result in an original design...to me that's a different thing, entirely. I hope I didn't put anyone on the offensive with my earlier post, hopefully this makes sense..
I must say that I have been thinking quite hard about this. I believe that there is a fine line that obviously some people cross by copying an exact design without giving credit and then there is the design that was used to inspire another more individualized design. In my opinion, I think that either way credit should be given when credit is due. Even if you only say that you got the design from a few different designs.
On a more positive side, remember that "Imitation is the highest form of flattery". But to be recognized for your design should also go along with it.
Lazy_Susan 
Someone here at CC told "me" in one of my threads a few months ago, that there were no more orginal designs. I say bull....
Some people aren't as creative sometimes as other's can be, when it comes to doing the design on paper or executing it from scratch. Other's obviously are.
Flattery is nice an all, but if someone tries to pass something off as their own, then it's no different then the numerous discussions we have here about copyright issues. (some people still don't get that one)
So if someone comes along with a picture of a cake from a magazine and says, I'd like this cake. And you make something similar to it, and then you put a picture of it in your website, then you're saying that in your website you should be giving credit to the original designer???
That sounds strange to me, because especially on wedding cakes, how do you know who the original designer was?
I have had my cakes copied, and even someone use a picture of my cake to sell one of their own. All I say is "Good luck to them", if they are going to get by being dishonest, they are not going to be very successful in the end. What goes around comes around!!!
So I don't spend too much energy worrying about people stealing designs etc.
Nati
Interesting, every time this topic comes up, it ends up in a fight, so we will see where it goes this time.
I think people all have an opinion about "no designs being original anymore", "wouldn't bother me if someone copied my cake and didn't give me credit", "doesn't bother me that someone used not only my design, but my exact picture on their site", "it is ok to copy a cake exactly from a magazine, not like it is an individual" - until it happens to them personally and then we see the opinion change.
Magazines most times do give credit to the designer, if they don't we can credit the magazine.
I do believe there are some original ideas that still haven't been thought up yet. I also believe that some people do excellent work but can only copy what they see and still others have creative ideas flowing all the time. Everyone is different.
Hugs Squirrelly
I can see giving credit to someone on this site but when it is a website for your business it would look kinda funny if you said under a photo..." I didn't come up with this design"!! It wouldn't be very professional, so I guess what I'm trying to say is that when someone decorates a cake similar to one they may have seen somewhere...it's a compliment!
Well, i believe weather you directly copy or make your own design, i think as long as it is your picture and you have executed the design, then its okay to place on your site. Would i have a problem with someone copying one of my cakes, no not a problem. But on the other hand if i came across a web site that had one of my pictures then i would be pe'od big time.
I can see giving credit to someone on this site but when it is a website for your business it would look kinda funny if you said under a photo..." I didn't come up with this design"!! It wouldn't be very professional, so I guess what I'm trying to say is that when someone decorates a cake similar to one they may have seen somewhere...it's a compliment!
Hhmn, well maybe people would be better off actually showing their own work and designs and saying that they are able to try to duplicate to some degree the designs of others?
Actually famous cake designers like Earlene and others always credit whomever influenced any of the designs they have on their sites. In my opinion, it is actually more professional to do so. But like I said, I think until this happens to someone, they have no idea how they will feel about it.
Think about it as in any other business or workplace, is it ok for a co-worker or manager to pass off your ideas as their own?
Hugs Squirrelly
Personally, on this website, tt is a no-no not to give credit where credit is due, let's face it we all know when someone is copying! But for a professional site to actually steal someones photo without having made the cake is really ridiculous. If a professional site made a cake that was inspired by something they saw, took a picture and placed it on their website without giving their inspiration, oh well. The majority of people that they are trying to sell to don't know any better.
While the majority might not know the difference, how "professional" is it to steal someone elses desgin/photo and put it on their website?
The "Oh Well" is what bothers me. Like stealing isn't a problem.
This website shouldn't be different in that it's not ok here, but other places it's ok. That's how the above post sounds (to me).
If I come up with something that's original, then I should get credit. Not shrugged off.
As for the bow, if you use a design by someone else, yes give credit or admit it's not your original design.
I think that all the ideas that I have gotton from other decorators from this site...I have recognized when I posted the photo. However...on my website...I have only the titles for my cakes and have not explained where I got my ideas. I do feel that I have not copied any design "exact."
I would never put another decorators photo on my website. I also see there are many opinions about this...all of them make a whole lot of sense!
I think there is so much talent on this site and I enjoy helping others and getting help. My intentions have never been to offend anyone when I did a similar design. I just liked it so much...or had someone ask for a cake along those lines. 
i think atkin600 is wondering and I too wonder
at what point does a technique become "generic"?
when is a bow a bow a bow a bow a bow??? (appologies G. Stein)
so you do a bow and I like it....must I really credit you? after all I could just as easily be looking at a bow I bought at Hallmark....do I have to credit them?
or I do sotis, or scroll work using those little imprint things...must I say:
scroll work courtesy of Wilton scroll stamps?
understand: I fight this battle w/ my students every year....where do you draw the line properly citing sources and something being plagiarism?
for Frosh and Soph in HS the answer is very simple....if it is not common knowledge (sky is blue, grass is green), and most certainly if it uses a number/statistic or term they wouldn't know then cite.
now, how to apply that to cakes. haveing been taught a simple bow in class, must I site my teacher? and in my personal case, interesting dilemma....way back when... i used to make gift wrap bows from scratch. couold make several styles. so how are you to know if i'm copying or just doing what I already know how to do from some other source?
saying you have to give credit for a bow or a scroll or some such is I think treading into the realm of citing common knowledge/basic technique.
FURTHER....and what about all those sketches I've scattered all around here. Will others cite those? Should I insist? or have I offered them for anyone and everyone to use? which then gets to issue of all those designs Wilton tosses out each year. Must I put a disclaimer on any cake that in any way uses one of those designs for inspiration: "inspired by Wilton yearbook 200*, pg. ** <name of design>"?
AND STILL more:
this is an art, isn't it??? now consider the practice in the world of art. Just how many artists in creating their work have been inspired by the works of another? most if not all. and do they credit it on their work? no
if fact, the first step often is to slavishly duplicate the work of a "master" to develop technique and then to move on to create own technique.
sort of that "i can see further because I stand on the shoulders of those who went before me."
really difficult issue, now isn't it?
LOL, Atkin600 !!!! This topic always get blown way out of porportion and everybody argues. It could go on forever. The caption under my cake might read...
Fondant loop bow by.....
Swiss dots origionally designed by...
Bead border inspired by.....
Gumpaste flowers first seen in.....
The only time I feel the need to give credit is if the cake is an exact (or as close as I can make it) copy to someone else's work. As far as I've seen, this is how it is on the web as well.
As for the bow, if you use a design by someone else, yes give credit or admit it's not your original design.
There comes a point when certain decorating techniques are so widely-used, that it would be impossible and unnecessary to try to give credit to others for those techniques. I think fondant bows are at that point. Certainly, one person originally came up with the buttercream rose, but everyone uses them now.
Look at the world of fashion design--designers frequently use the ideas of those who have come before, often even copying details, in their own designs. I'm not talking about exact copies--that's another matter.
Cake design is similar, I think. There are trends and styles and techniques that become commonplace, even though individual people may have been originators.
I absolutely agree that you shouldn't copy someone else's cake design without giving credit, but we also can't be too nitpicky.
I've looked at thousands and thousands of pictures of cakes since I started decorating, as I'm sure many of you have. My cake designs draw on the sum of everything I've seen, but I honestly can't remember in most cases what specific cake or decorator gave me the inspiration for everything I do.
I hope I've been clear with my meaning in this post.
Again, I'm not trying to say it's OK to pass off an exact copy of another person's cake as your own design.
I think it comes down to this, if you copy a design exactly, whether it be from a book or this website, you should say inspired by so and so. I dont think we needs to get very techinal, if you literally copy it or use a slight variation, the dignified thing to do would be to say so, otherwise, you kinda seem like a phony! But, hey, what do I know, I have a two year old and four month old, and get to shower a couple times a week, so my thinking may be clouded!
They didn't just steal the design, they stole the whole thing! It wouldn't have been so bad if they took the idea, made the cake with their own twists and style. But they stole the whole thing. Its false advertising, because they are putting it up there to sell, as if it were their creation. It's not just a technique. We all use things that have been "created" by someone else. Someone had to create the whole art of cake decorating, but we don't take credit for inventing roses, shells, stars,leaves,Bows,etc.
We take techniques created by someone else and apply them to the things (cakes) we make and make our own creations.
I didn't mean to imply you have to credit the person that came up with the bow, simply the design aspect. i. e. - color scheme or a specific theme.
Just because the person(s) you get an idea from don't credit the source, doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Two wrongs don't make it right, but three rights make a left.
This'll go on forever and ever, with no one agreeing in the end.
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