I got a call from a friend and a fellow cake artist the other night and she told me that another cake decorator in her area is teaching a class on one of my designs maybe i am being silly but it has really bothered me that she is getting credit for it i think it is one thing to copy a design that doesn't really bother me i take it as a compliment that my work has inspired somebody else but to take a design and teach it as if it was your own design has really bothered me it makes me not even want to post any cakes anymore.....i don't know maybe I'm being stupid but i just think it is disrespectful

I agree... she could have at least asked permission from you first. Rude, rude, rude...
Hugs to you!

Maria

Take the class and show her how it is really done!

I think that is shady. She should give you credit for the design.

Credit, Schmedit!

How about asking permission before using your original design?

I've done work inspired by others before, and always asked the originator for their blessing before proceeding. Not everyone has responded, but nobody has ever said no.

Theresa

thanks guys i really feel it's like me trying to teach a class on one of Collette peters cakes its a very specific design. not that my cakes compare to hers but still you guys get the point.....lol

I'm guessing any decorator who takes pride in their work would want to change the design a bit and put their own spin on it. Just teaching a straight copy is nothing for them to be proud of. Some people have no originality.

Jo-melia, That is hysterical. Could you imagine her face if Shelly was sitting in there ready to take this class!!!!!

that would be really funny hmmm....

You should totally take the class! But sign up using a different name so she won't know it's you until you get there.

I was writing about using someone esle's design on another thread today, and said that you can't copyright a design, but it's common courtesy to attribute the design to the person who you got it from. She apparently has less than no common courtesy, so she deserves to have you sitting there giving her the hairy eyeball while she sweats out teaching the class!

thanks guys i feel better...i don't know if she thought i would never find out because she lives so far from me in anther state but another decorator recognized the design as one of mine and gave me a call because so thought it was wrong as well. i wish i had the time and money to fly down there and take the class......but it is fun just thinking about it

Hi Shelly, where is class going to be held ? maybe one of us could go and sometime EARLY in the demo, ask real loud "EXCUSE ME, BUT THAT LOOKS LIKE ONE OF SHELLYS DESIGNS" and have a pic of your cake with them.As they say on credit card ad the look on her face would be "priceless"

that would be really funny......as much as i would love to i think it is best not to give names or info about this person as CC has enough drama and they don't need it from me as well, i just needed to vent to someone and i knew everyone here would make me feel a little better i tried talking to my husband but he says I'm being silly. i have sent this person an email but have yet to receive a reply

Which design is she copying?

That is just WRONG . You're not being silly at all.

I'm glad you sent her an email. Even if she never responds, at least she knows she's been found-out!!!

Is the class being held at a bakery, cake supply store, etc? If so, you may wish to contact the owner directly and let them know that they are in violation of your intellectual property. Most reputable business are savvy enough to know that this is not okay. It may force her to acknowledge that she's using someone else's work as her own.

i think you should be pleased!! ha ha....if she dosn't have enough of her own originality and obviously not proud of her own ideas and work that she has to use yours!!!
you could use this to your advantage....for promoting your own work!! you could say things like'"this piece, my own design was featured in a class in ??? by another cake artist because they loved the design so much!" hey, if she can use you, use her!!
i've often been inspired by all the cc artists here, and without them my cakes would not be what they are, so i always try and tell who i was inspired from, and try and put my own twist on things. thank you everyone here at cc!! hugs to all of you !!!

Shelly, thank you for not sharing her information. While what she is doing isn't very nice, I don't think having hundreds of people end up messaging her wouldn't be nice either.

thanks everyone.......i seen a picture of the cake she made and will be teaching on her facebook it is definitely my design i showed my husband and he said after seeing that i wouldn't let it bother me your work is a million times better and coming from my husband this is a huge compliment......lol so that made me feel a little better i know there is not much i can do because as costumeczar said you can not put a copyright on a design but it just bugs me that she is taking credit for the design and benefiting from it. i feel that it is just common courtesy to credit the original decorator i always try and do so when i am inspired by another decorator and if someone is inspired by my work and does or doesn't give me credit i still take it as a compliment i see my cakes copied on here all the time and some give me credit and some don't i am just happy that someone feels that my work is worth recreating but when someone takes a design and passes it off as their own and benefits from it i just think it is disrespectful. i might have even been ok with it if she would have asked permission.

I agree, that's pretty low if you KNOW it's someone else's design. Now I'm paranoid. If I think of something, create it, say "Yes, I thought of that!" and low and behold someone has already had that idea. How do you know yours is the "original"??? I certainly would like give credit where credit it due.

sugalips.....it is really hard to know who came up with what first i wouldn't be paranoid.......most people are ok with having their work recreated and even more so when they get asked permission or credited on the photo description like i said i am flattered to know i could inspire someone else i think if people aren't ok with having their work copied they wouldn't post pictures for the world to see. i just know for a fact this is my design it is a very very specific design when i did the cake i looked and hundreds of cakes and never once come across one like mine and besides a very special little person helped to design her cake and it is copied to a tea nothing changed. and if she would have done the cake posted the pic never gave me credit i would have just taken it as a compliment but for her to teach a class on how to make it and say it is her design is a whole nother thing. i really feel it is like me trying to teach a class on one of Collette peters cakes and taking credit for the design

I can certainly see why someone would want to use your cakes as inspiration, they are stunning! But teaching a class on one - without talking to you first - uh - no! That's just not right! Whatever happened to common courtesy?

I am not sure about the statements that you can not copyright your design. The reason I am saying this is because last year the NFL tried to claim that they had the copyright to the "Who Dat" phrase and the "Fleur de lies" symbol. They were not able to prove either, but from that claim, it was brought out about how you can copyright almost anything. You just file the paperwork before someone else and you have to renew it every so many years. Just like Disney and other popular businesses.

If it was my cake, then maybe ask your friend to go ask the other teacher to either give you credit in her classes or give you a share of her profits from the teaching of the design. If you get no response from your email, and you really don't want her to use your design, you can always have a lawyer send her a Cease and Decease demand.

I would just settle for her giving you credit in her classes, but you would have no way of knowing if she does. Just letting her know that you are aware of what she is doing, might scare the bejesus out of her. I feel that if there is a cake design that you really admire and want to create it for someone, then you should try everything to find out who the original designer is and contact them before using it.

thanks dldbrou, i think more than anything i want some sort of credit that the design is mine. i thought about calling the shop were the class is to be held since i did not get a reply by email.......i will give it a day or so and maybe think about calling

Wow, you do have incredible designs!!! Awesome. As someone with no artistic talent whatsoever, I frequently use others ideas... and since I am not creative I do not really make many changes.. I know on at least one picture I posted here I noted that it was from someone else but I also have not done so on every single one. I am a hobby baker and when asked I do tell people I did not come up with the design.. but I suppose I should pay closer attention to who all I looked at to come up with it. I can not tell you how much I appreciate all the amazing talent on this site.. I made my first beer bottle cake this week and the response was great.. again, I said it was not something I came up with.. I had seen it on CC.. You guys are great!