Hhmn, just saw another case for putting your names across your cake pictures folks, something I never have done, but then, who would want to steal, right, haha!
Those of you who are also on Tracy's Sweet Dreams message board will know what I am talking about. A picture was taken from her site and used on a commercial bakery site with no mention of credit to her and no link back to her site and without permission or approval.
I do not know this lady, but she is very well respected in this cake decorating community, so you can imagine how she feels.
I hope that all of the members from her site that are on this site take notice of this and lend their support to her, but that likely goes without saying.
It is so unethical to take credit for something that is not yours. Shocking really that a business would do such a thing.
Guess I should put my money where my mouth is and follow this advice and take the time to figure out how to label photographs. I just never really understood the need to, until now.
I hope that this is ok to post, I don't mean to cause trouble here, I am just totally shocked.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Hey Squirrelly,

I think it is TOTALLY OK for you to Post about this. I feel like People need to know. I hate that someone was so underhanded to do that to Tracy.

1st Make a 2nd copy of your picture.
2nd~ Open it with your Paint or Photo Shop then there is a capital A on either side or the top click on it and then you click on your Picture and then Type Your name, but Usually you have to adjust your size,choose the font you like and the colors. its really easy after you play with it a bit.

Tc told me how to do it. Kudo's to TC~

Hope this Helps!

~Sweet~

Thanks for posting those instructions kiddo. I had to send a C.C. buddy to the other site I am on, to an old post that Cali4Dawn had made, to get instructions.
I have never bothered to do this because it wouldn't bother me if someone took one of my pictures, at least, that is what I have always thought. Haha, easy to say because it hasn't happened to me. We often see cake pictures posted and folks have no idea who made the cake and they always say that they are sorry they couldn't credit the original designer. But to actually take a picture of someone else's cake and post it as your own, well that is something else.
I just hate it when people are so dishonest about things. This is out and out stealing, misrepresenting yourself, really bad behaviour.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

Anytime Squirrelly!
I am glad that I could help. I just hope it was enough help! haha,, & your so right it is so sad to see someone so Selfish to Steal from others. I am sure if credit would have been given where it was due people wouldn't mind letting folks use their pic's but only if Credit is across the Picture.. hahaha. =0)

~Sweet~=0)

Haha, exactly! It is really a shame that you have to go to these lengths to protect what is yours, geesh.
She did have her name across it, but in such a way that it was, I guess, easy to airbrush it out. So that is another lesson, put it right smack across the centre. Tracy had it on the cake side where it didn't disturb the photograph if removed.
Hugs Squirrelly

Well, I have some breaking news to offer on this topic. Kind of depressing, to me, that is. BUt my husband is a computer geek and he said that if someone really wanted to, they could take your name off of a picture and it would be like it was never there. I would imagine that someone would have to be really LOW to do that, but it sounds like someone was really low to take the picture in the first place. Geesh!!! You would think in this business, or hobby, that people would be honest and trustworthy. I guess there are bad people in everything. So sorry to hear that!!!

How nice of you Sweet to help Squirrelly out!! (Squirrelly, Sweet taught me how to do it too!!!)

Sorry to post this but just wanted you guys to know. I wonder if there is a way to "watermark" a picture and make it to where no one could remove it? I will have to ask my dh. I will let y'all know what I find out!

Leslie

Thanks Squirrelly for reminding us. I always think I have to do that with every picture but then forget because if I'm really happy with one of my cakes, I'm excited to share and end up forgetting. I can't imagine anyone stealing one of my cakes but none-the-less that is aweful that that even happens. (I guess I'm just way to honest and could never do such a thing)

I know when you're designing a website, there is a code you can use so people can't right-click on anything (which is how you save pictures). I used this before when people were stealing graphics from a website I used to have.

Hi Allysons!! I had to use the no right-click code when I was making and selling dolls on ebay. I had one gal who was stealing my pictures and using them on her doll auctions....aarrgghh!! She was such a pain to me that I finally contacted ebay and they took care of it....but I think the same thing that missmersh was talking about with the pictures....if someone really wants it to have your pictures....there is a way around the no right-click code. Some people!!...ugh!!

~Denise

The very frightening thing is that people are so dishonest to their customers too-they make it look like they have done a certain cake and the customer expects it to look like that! At least if a customer looks at a book they know it's from a book and it will be very similar to it when they receive theirs. I have made a book of CAKE IDEAS MADE BY OTHER DECORATORS where I have pictures in them but they are not in my album of my accomplishments. There is a page as you open the book stating that "these pictures are of cakes made by other talented cake decorators to give you more ideas for your cake. These cakes have not been done by me" Then when I do the cake I take the original picture out and add my picture to my album. I know of a girl who cuts pictures out of Wilton books and puts them in her album along with her pictures-I can't do that....if they want to see my book I show them, if they want ideas they look at the idea book and my wilton books, etc. Some people are so insecure they want credit for everything.....it will explode on them one day when they can't "measure up" to the picture....sorry this is so long....

Nanni,
You are doing it the right way!
Hugs Squirrelly

I actually went to work recently with someone that has a very extensive gallery of pictures on her web site that you can HONESTLY tell are not hers!

She hasn't even bothered to remove the person's name off the cakes!

I have SOME cakes that are NOT mine on my web page, since when I made my page,..as a matter of fact it's still under construction...I didn't have any pictures to post in THAT particular category..lol...


Buuuuuuut......I wrote something to the effect that although those cakes were not actually made by me we can make similar designs to accomodate the customer.

As soon as I can though...those pictures will be replaced with my OWN work..lol

So, I guess I am guilty of this myself! ouch!!!

I have made a few web sites.. { really easy ones..LOL } and this is the code to use if you want to post pics on your site and not let anyone right click on them to save them.

<SCRIPT language=JavaScript>
<!--
function click() {
if (event.button==2) {
alert('Thank you for your coming!!')
}
}
document.onmousedown=click
// -->
</SCRIPT>

It is a shame that people take other people photos and pass them off as their own.. I know a lot of people save pictures from the galleries in here but just for reference when they are making a cake etc.. I think most people are honest and wouldn't take credit for something they didn't do..It just takes a few rotten apples to spoil the bunch doesn't it.
Liz

Hi everyone....I deal with copyright infringements quite often. My husband and I have a sign company. More times than I'd like to count, a potential customer has come to me for a sign layout/design. I do the work and put a print or jpg of the proposal in their posession....and several weeks down the road, I see MY SIGN DESIGN on their window, vehicle, or building front sign. MAKES ME FURIOUS. By law, all artwork is copyright protected. We are not the sueing (sp?) type, so we just write it off and get on with life. Legally....you can pursue anyone who steals your artwork in a business setting. I know this isn't what we want to do here....but it's just another aspect of the misuse/abuse of artwork that has been put into the public's hands. Our cake designs ARE in many cases art.... Very, very frustrating. I also am a freelance photographer...and yes...I can remove anything you superimpose upon your cake photo....however, the larger translucent looking overlays are much harder to get rid of. Bottom line.....if somebody wants to steal your art bad enough.....it's "a piece of cake".... Bummer.

Where is Tracy's Sweet Dreams site?? I am interested in seeing this cake. It must look great for someone to want to steal the picture!!!!

I know when you're designing a website, there is a code you can use so people can't right-click on anything (which is how you save pictures). I used this before when people were stealing graphics from a website I used to have.

There is a way to get around this option too. My hubby is a computer geek also, he says that there is just a line of javascript you have to delete and boom, right click away.

Thanks Squirellycakes for reminding us...I didn't even think about it on the last cake that I posted because I'm not at home in front of my computer!! But son and DIL have programs to use..wasn't even thinking!

You can add the program to prevent people from right-clicking on the photo all you want but like Sangria said...
"You also have to prevent the user from doing a screen shot as well. Sometimes you can't right click, but it's just as easy to do a printscreen."
You can hit *Shift and "printscreen" on you computer and it will save the whole page you see on the monitor. Go to your paint program and hit "paste" and it opens the same window in the paint program. All one has to do is crop what they want.


Joan

There used to be a website where the lady had a very extensive gallery of cakes, but it was very obvious NONE were hers! I reported her. I felt like a snitch, but I see that as just WRONG! Anyways, the site no longer exists...she only has herself to blame!

My 17 yr. old sister is the cake decorator in the family and I help her out. She took a sculpting class...made a fantastic 3D dog....instructor just raved about how it was the best in the class and we were all very proud of her. Well, a few months later at a different class a lady opened her class binder and there was a full color 8x10 pic of my sister's cake! My sis didn't say anything she was so shocked ( I would've taken that picture right then and there!). Apparently, the class instructor had sent out a bulk e-mail of everyone's pictures to the class and that's how she got it.

Here's the cake...nobody steal it!

Genna, sometimes as instructors when we give a class we retain the rights to use the images taken at classes as we see fit.

The nice thing would've been for your sister's teacher to at least ...Ask..or tell her that she was going to do this...

Or give her a free seat at another one of the classes that your sister would've like to have taken.

I know that as a culinary student, anything that I work on in the school kitchens, could be used by the school.

The School newspaper doesn't ask our permission to take our pictures, post our pictures and doesn't compensate us!

Today I worked, from 9 am to 1 pm, making 500 cookies at 4 ounces each to sell at a concert for the victims of the hurricane and all we got was ONE cookie each to take home...oh yeah, and a breakfast that we all snuck into..lol

By the way, Tell your sister that is an awesome cake!! I hope she keeps up the great work and doesn't let this bad experience sour her on taking more classes!

I have made a point to label all my pictures. However, I did not do it in the center! It is very frustrating that someone would pass one of your cakes off as their own. I think the dog cake is awesome. Your sister deserved some kind of recognition on that one!
traci

Now ya'll see why it is SOOOOO important to stamp your name on the cakes. Calidawn was the perfect teacher by letting me know about that! I stamp every cake picture that I have on line. If you aren't doing it you really should. It's very easy & quick to do. Plus it personalizes your cake. I think the stamps look great!

If someone wants to use their time doing something as hateful as stealing your pics them let them do it! They'll get theirs one day!!

That doggie cake is just amazing, incredible! Please pass on how impressed we are with it!
Sorry don't have the link handy, but if you do a search, Sweet Dreams by Tracy, you will find her site and the cake. It is under Adult and it is a slot machine, entitled, "JackPot". All of her cakes are amazing, she does wonderful work.
I know schools retain rights to the work of students but I have never heard of any school using one of the cakes without giving credit to the student by name. It is really only good manners and the right thing to do, to give credit to people.
But to put up a picture and claim it as your own creation, that is just plain dishonest. Sure, take the picture and copy and make the same cake and there is no problem. But even then it is the right thing to do, to give credit to the original designer.
And you are right, there is a right to sue because artworks and certain other works are protected by law. There is also the question of the bakery putting their web designer in jeopardy by doing such a thing and you can have a website removed because of such an action.
I use examples of other peoples' works to give people ideas, but I always make sure that the site and designer/creator is named. And I never duplicate anyone's work, mainly because I don't like to. I use them for an example of styles and design, but always change them somewhat. I keep a stack of books too, so it is obvious that the books and designs are not mine. But that is very different from putting them in a photograph album and claiming them as your own.
I think it is really important to give credit where it is due. Art and design are a personal legacy and the original creator deserves recognition for their work.
In this case, the designer contacted the bakery almost a month ago and the picture is still up on the site.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes

one can never duplicate another's work anyway! when someone comes to me with a picture from a book or magazine, I always ask how commited they are to that particular design, then I gently tell them ..they should contact that designer.

If they would like for me to "interpret" the vision..then we can talk..lol

It's a pain in the butt having someone else take credit for your work, but think about this...No matter what they say....CAN they make it like you?

It's so wrong for someone to take credit for another person's hard work. The only way to stop someone from copying photos off your website is by showing your photos as a slideshow...or movie....then they can right click or try to screen shoot all they want....it won't work. But is it really worth it? I agree with the above comments.....if someone wants copy so badly...let them....

we all know they will pay somewhere, someday.

It's very frustrating to have people use your pictures without permission...I have had several incidents where people were using my pictures w/o permission. In fact, I was just notified yesterday about someone using one of my pics. Someone else notified this particular decorator before I had the chance and she took the pics off her website. Sometimes I think people don't realize that it's wrong. I do have a problem with the people who don't remove the pics....Then I get

I don't care if someone copies one my designs and uses a copy of their picture on their website!!!

Everyone has a "signature" I can tell when on a website the cakes are not made by the same person.

I got hired by someone that had an extensive website...When I went to my interview I was excited that I was going to be working with so many talented decorators..but, no...this woman goes online and takes posted pictures and puts them on her website. She didn't even take the name off some of the pictures that she has posted.

When I interviewed with her I asked her who where the decorators...and she never answered me. Then I work with her for a week and was dissapointed on the quality of cake decorating she turned out of her shop.

She hired me as a cake decorator and all I was doing was making cookies!

Needless to say a week later I quit, and she hasn't paid me for my weeks work. What would make me think she would?

I don't think that most of us have a problem with someone taking a design we came up with and trying to duplicate it and then taking a picture of their own cake. But this wasn't the case. I think as soon as we post a picture of a cake, we know that there is the possibility that design will be duplicated and if we have a problem with that, we shouldn't post.
I heard back from the bakery. They said that some customer had given them the picture and that it inadvertently ended up on the website. And that their web designer is giving them the runaround about removing it.
Now maybe it is just me, but how the web designer would have ended up with a picture a customer brought in, is beyond me. And if she or he did, well don't they monitor their website and see what is on there? And if they saw it there, wouldn't they have asked to have it removed since the pictures on their website are supposed to be pictures of their cakes? At least that is how the site is set up.
Anyway, I see it as false advertisement, poor contol of a website and in general, a pretty lame excuse!
Pastry Diva, you certainly would never have been happy staying with that bakery, geesh, hard to imagine the way she runs business.
I hope as a result that people will exercise a little more caution in posting pictures of cakes and establishing who the decorator is and giving them credit.
Hugs Squirrelly Cakes