i dont want to seem like a brat or seem like i deserve some kind of recognition, but i posted a cake (the geico money cake) and since have seen a few replicas. i dont need my name in lights but just wanted to ask everyone else..


does it bother you when someone takes your idea, and with that takes complete credit for the design and originality??

it would be flattering if i felt like they didnt act like there wasnt a middle man in their design.

i just feel a little disheartened, and maybe i shouldnt care, but it def bothered me a bit.

It's nice if people give credit, but sometimes they forget where they saw it, etc.

Another thing to remember is that so many here are always thinking of ideas for cakes, so with this design, I think it is very possible that others had the same idea.

It's very possible that they came up with the idea from the commercials like you did. They are on TV all the time.

I had the same thing happen the other day (although the person said someone brought her a pic but she didnt know where they got it so she tried to give credit) well I was soooo flattered that someone did a version of my cake I was giddy all day! Felt like a big dork but I was ecstatic! Now if someone was trying to take credit for my cake as their own idea I may not love that so much. I always try to give credit if I use someone's ideas because that is the right thing to do.

it was just a little shocking. i'm fairly new to all of this and everything i do means alot to me. i give credit when i use ideas, and although it is possible they got the idea from the commercials, i know i came on here a thousand and one time before i did it to see if there were other cakes to help me with my design and such. i'm always looking for help with cakes and tips on frostings and recipes. and as a "newbie" i guess i shouldnt let it bother me.

its the first time its happened so maybe its just the general shock.

I googled that cake and here is a pic of one from 5/12/09, about 2 weeks before your pic went up. Is it possible people don't feel like that is 'your' design?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.craftster.org/pictures/data/500/02940.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php%3Ftopic%3D304695.0&usg=__vnVG6WCJSwx8o750-RmV8VIDXq0=&h=336&w=448&sz=23&hl=en&start=3&sig2=HAiXDIl7fX1IhJz2AJ6mcA&um=1&tbnid=bTCwzMv5ZY5yiM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGEICO%2BMONEY%2BCAKE%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=IhjASsumNYnytQP988Vq

I see that hers is smooth fondant on the edge, rather then the more realistic paper effect that you gave it (very cool effect, btw), but ultimately it's the same design. I agree and think people also either saw it online or on tv and came up with similar cakes.

Either way, the cake is great.

i made the cake nearly 9 months ago, my brother is a random creature and he actually wanted me to do the rubics cube cake from here but changed his mind. everyone takes credit for everything in their own way.
i didnt even become a member until just before i posted the first 7 or so cakes.

but i can honestly say i spent hours upon hours looking through cakes. and looked on several different sites google, flickr, and yahoo included to get ideas on how to make the money look realistic.

so in all fairness i can see where all of you are coming from. i just assumed you might feel the same way if it happened to you.

thank you for the kind comments. i just wanted everyones opinion on how to feel.

i'm totally new to this so this being the first time, i didnt know how to react!

but thank you all for the opinions

feel flattered --

you're so good others want to be just like you!

I feel we all use this site to bounce ideas and such around...yes it is nice to get credit but more than likely the person you are giving credit to got their idea from another also...sometimes I use a mixture of different cakes for one...this site is like one big family....I love when I get credit but I usually have to go back and recredit it to another....and doesn't it all come down to the fact that you feel awesome with what you did along with the person you did it for? Take care! Welcome!

I have been discovering that my cakes are appearing in blogs, in other wedding sites, etal. So far, all have listed where they saw the cake, which is good. I've only discovered these by accident. (Decided to google my name, my biz name, just for the heck of it to see what came up .... found a number of my cakes "showcased" on other sites! Cool!)

But what I'm trying to share is that perhaps our cakes are being showcased on other sites, and we don't know it. And perhaps a decorator saw the cake on another site. And perhaps the decorator didn't know you were a CC'er. I google cake designs all the time for ideas. I try to keep track of where I found them, in my files, but this isn't always possible.

Just sharing some other options.

And to answer your question, am I upset if I dont' get credit? No. It's nice to receive it, but no, I don't get upset. I'm complimented that they wanted to duplicate my cake.

I'm afraid I am not very artistic when it comes to thinking of designs myself and I get inspirations from seeing other peoples work. Most of my cakes are designs from someone elses ideas with my own take of it. We are all on here to share and it thrills me when people make comments on my cakes. Be proud that someone wanted to copy your design. That's an honour so don't be disheartened.Thank you everyone who has given me inspirations to produce my works of art (I think so lol) and xkfayex keep on caking. And we would love to see more of you.

When I see a picture here on CC that I like and may want to use, I save it in my favorite photos. Then if I copy it, I go back to see who made the one I copied so I can give credit up-front when I post mine. Otherwise, I'd never remember who made the 'inspiration' cake.

Take it as a form of flattery. I would be more concerned if they took the actual picture of your cake and then said it was their creation.

If you post a cake anywhere online, then expect it to be used as inspiration for many other cakes.

BUT, in the case of the Geico money cake, how could your cake be the inspiration for others when that commercial is all over the television? Someone doesn't have to see your cake to get the idea to make a cake out of that popular icon. That would be like me making a designer purse cake and saying others had copied my design.

I actually thought about what a cute cake idea the Geico money thing would be before I EVER saw anyone post a cake like it. Does that mean my idea was taken?

Of course, I think everything can be made into a cake. If I see swirls on a piece of paper, I think cake!

You should definitely be flattered. The person thought that your cake was so great, they wanted to try to replicate it.

When I see something that I like on a cake, I always try to change it a bit to make it mine. And I always want to give credit to who made it.

I can easily understand how you would be upset if someone didn't give credit to you. =o)

Yeah, personally I don't think the design is yours even if you made it into cake before anyone else. You based it off a popular icon and of the other Geico money cakes I've seen, none used your same techniques. Basically, that doesn't make you the designer - it just made you first.

I could see feeling this way if you had made up an original design and saw it copied elsewhere, but not for something that everyone in the US has probably seen at least once and that someone else originally designed, albeit not in cake form.

Well it seems you have your recognition now, so what's the problem?

its ethics. and tact.

Well, frankly I have to question how tactful it was to post this in public instead of simply sending a private message to the person who you feel slighted you.

If the person came to you for help on how to do the cake, it would have been nice for them to recoginze mention your cake and help in the post. When you put the time and effort in to helping others it's nice to get a thanks, but that doesn't always happen, that's just part of life. It really wouldn't upset me that much, but if it did, I would pm the person to discuss it.

I use CC very often for tips and ideas for cakes, and while I try to give credit to those who inspired me, sometimes I forget or there are just too many to name. It would be one thing if someone had taken your actual photo and tried to credit it as their work (plagiarism) but to use your idea for inspiration and make their own version, that's the ultimate in reward (or at least it would be for me, whether I got credit or not, because you've inspired someone!).

Additionally, like several others have said, its an instantly recognizable symbol, mascot, whatever you want to call it, and you were inspired by it. Geico inspired you, did you credit them? You would have to expect that other people have thought "that'd make a cool cake" or have already made a cake like that, even if they didn't post a picture of it on CC.

Also, I question how you couldn't have realized that the person who PM'd you wasn't going to attempt to make a version of the cake? Why else would they have asked for instructions? If it bothers you, either don't give out the instructions or ask that you be credited (though there's no guarantee you will be).

I'd just take it as a compliment and move on.

When I first started out it irked me when someone copied my cake down to the T and did'nt give credit,but now I'm over it.
I've copied cakes and drawn inspiration from cakes, I give credit when I can and if I can't then I still make mention that it's a copy/replica/inspired by cake.
Now if I see my design done by someone else credit or no credit I take it as a compliment.
Makes me feel like I'm actually doing something right if someone wants to copy my work.

i posted this just to get an opinion on how i should feel. i didnt think i would be attacked for asking an honest question. thank you for everyone who have given good advice.

like i've said over and over again i just felt a little underminded i guess. this is the FIRST time its happened and i found myself getting upset by it. but i have read what some of you have said and it made me realize that is not such a bad thing.

on the case of her asking how me how to do it. it was assumed that she would. and i have absolutely NO problem with someone asking for tips or even making a cake like mine even if its to-the-t exactly like mine. it was just a little bit of not getting the credit.

but now that i feel like i'm a terrible person for just asking i'm really wishing i never would have posted this.

so thank you to those who have helped. and i'm sorry to anyone else who feel like i've been rude in any way..

sorry

You're not a horrible person for asking, but you DID ask for opinions. We just happen to disagree with your feelings and told you so. It's not a big deal. Happens all the time. No harm done.