Reminder About Proper Crediting of Sources

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Understood some like to have credit where credit is do. My self if I do something and is copied. I take it that it was liked so much that another wanted to give it a try. As said this is only my feelings.

If I copy an image I see on Pinterest and the artist's name is unknown, whom do I credit? Most of these images appear on many pinboards and no attribution is  given to the original artist.

Very good point! I was wondering about just the same

Or something like e.g. quilted cookies, needlepoint, ... - there are so many of them, how is one to find out who was the first?

I generally absolutely agree with this topic, but I suppose that a lot of cookies are very similar because it is the same design ideas which are used again and again (flowers, shabby shic, cute little bunnies, flowers again, etc.). Also on this side I see so many cookies which I can hardly tell apart - and that still doesn't necessarily mean that people are infringing.

Or how about all the Frozen Cookies? Is the movie name enough or should Disney be added?

I habe to admit, I am puzzled...

It's unfortunate that Pinterest has made it so easy for people not to be properly credited but that's neither here nor there, really.

 

If you've done your best to locate the source artist and can't find him/her, then you can't credit that person obviously. However, Google Images allows you to search images across the web, so it's often easy to find the original source of the image that way. In fact, the images copied in this case were easily located in a Google Image search, and the original artists were identified by me that way. This took a matter of minutes. So if I was able to locate and credit the original artist to settle these reports, surely the cookie designers could have done the same thing.

 

Even an acknowledgement that the copied design is not yours is better than no acknowledgement. 

What I am referring to here were cases of other art being copied - not other cookiers' designs. The original artist was easily identified and located, because the pieces were that unique. 

 

All I am asking is that if you know that you copied something from someone, and you know that person's name, then please credit them. It only reflects poorly on you when you don't and your omission is brought into public view. 

 

And, yes, all copies of licensed character cookies on this site must go in the "Characters" clip set and should be tagged as "Disney" or whatever character they are. However, to be clear, I don't support the copying and selling of licensed characters (it's a copyright infringement if you don't own a license/have permission, and Etsy sites have been closed down because of this). I have this clip set because, as one person, I cannot control the flow of licensed characters on the site. But if one day I am asked to remove them all by Disney, it will be an easy thing to do! 

There is no need to credit originators of commonly used techniques, except for clearly known originators (like Montreal Confections for the paint-your-own cookie), for as you said, it's often difficult to say who originated a technique. But, if you directly copy another person's unique cookie design, a drawing, a sculpture, a painting, etc., these are obvious things where you should make best efforts to identify the artist and credit him/her.

(Julia)  But if one day I am asked to remove them all by Disney, it will be an easy thing to do!

 

(Dona)  Grinning!  hahhahaaaaaaaa  I fell out laughing!  hahhahaaaaaaaa

 

As for me, I probably couldn't copythe smallest of detailed cookie...  hahaha    I have cited though and always felt I have shamed them or dishonored thir work  -  smiling !  It's way to much trouble for me to remember a name/the work so I do my best not to copy anyone, but as I've opined I do cite.  This is done immediately so I don't forget.  Still smiling and  laughing silly at Julia!  I am  sorry that you've been put in this position.  Stay blessed!

Hi, Dona! You do a great job of acknowledging  - quite exhaustive, actually - so thank you for that!

Julia, did you notify the cookiers that made the error in acknowledgment? Just wondering as you said you would give the benefit of doubt and hoped it was an oversight.....   

Of course, but I felt a broader reminder was in order given the circumstances here. It's also time consuming and costly for me to address matters like this solely on an individual basis, as they (and other ones) crop up more than you might think. So I'm hoping that reinforcement to the whole community will help consistently deliver the message that it's important to make best efforts to credit.

Thanks so much for the reply - it is a good reminder to us all for sure. I appreciate your time! 

Thank you for the reminder.  I try to make my own designs but recently I was asked to do a "working interview" for a cookie decorator position at a local bakery. They gave me a picture they found on pinterest to copy. They really turned out well, and I posted them. However, I did not get the job! But, this experience inspired me to just start selling cookies on my own and it's going very well. The cookies I had to copy were Peppa Pig.  When doing character cookies like those, you don't really have much choice if the client wants them exactly as they are shown.

 

You always have a choice as to what you sell. Be careful selling licensed characters - as noted above, businesses have been closed because of it.

I absolutely agree.  Since it was for a local bakery and interview, I did it because it would their liability since it was for their client. I realize though that I probably shouldn't post the pictures because that could pose a problem for me.  I don't want to be known to do character cookies for this reason so I would refer them to someone else.   

Thank you for setting it out so it's easy to understand how best to do it Julia. Being new on here and to cookies, it's nice to give credit where it's due and now I can be sure to make a note of anyone's work which influences me whether it's cookie oriented or from another medium.

Thanks. There are many many examples on this site of extremely well credited work. So what happened here is the exception rather than the rule. Over the weekend, I'll try to pull some "best" examples of attribution and add them here as well. I think it always helps to see a terrific standard or two.

*** EXAMPLES OF PROPERLY CREDITED WORK ***

 

Below are a few examples of nicely credited photos that draw on different sources of inspiration. Listed in parentheses are the areas (title, subtitle, tags, etc.) where the publisher cited her sources and placed links. These are great examples to follow when crediting your own work.

 

Original Art Source (cited in title, subtitle and tag): http://cookieconnection.juliau.../clip/alphonse-mucha

 

Licensed Characters (put in Character Cookie clip set; also called out as a Disney character in tags and subtitle): http://cookieconnection.juliau...m/clip/frozen-castle

 

Cookier Inspiration (cited in subtitle and tag; also a link to cookier's site in the first comment): http://cookieconnection.juliau...aint-your-own-cookie

All very helpful information- and thanks for the examples!

What about sports team themed cookies? Do I need to credit the individual team who's logo appears on my jersey cookies?

Yes. Please treat copied logos the way that licensed characters are treated - don't put in the Character clip set, but tag it as "(fill in the blank) logo". Logos are usually copyrighted, so I need a way to quickly find them and remove them if anyone ever asks me to.

       
       


Great, will do! Thanks!