r/cookiedecorating Aug 30 '24

Help Needed Beware! Someone is stealing our content from this sub.

Thumbnail
gallery
276 Upvotes

As the title mentions, I discovered what I suspect is a bot account that scrapes Reddit posts from this sub, steals our work, and tries to karma farm on their social media accounts.

During a Pinterest search, I noticed some of my images appearing (I haven’t posted anything to Pinterest). I did some digging and it linked back to their website where the entire sub is essentially duplicated.

I thought I would let everyone know in case they would like to file a copyright dispute as well.

We’ll see if they take the bait of this post.

Admin, please delete if not allowed


r/cookiedecorating Sep 08 '24

How to protect your intellectual property

Post image
647 Upvotes

What a week, amirite?

Our cookie community is a unique place on the internet where good vibes outweigh the bad. Each post is filled to the brim with positive energy and the supportive community we’ve built together has fostered a culture of joy that’s worth fighting for. That’s why I felt it was so important to make this update — to empower, to educate, and to use my tech skills to help out the community I’m so passionate about.

In this post, you’ll learn what steps you can take if your intellectual property is being used without your consent and what you can do to proactively protect your work going forward. If you have any resources to add, please include them in a comment below.

What To Do If Your Work Has Been Stolen

It’s a real bummer to discover your content is being used without your consent but here’s the good news — you don’t just have to sit there and take it. As a creator, you have rights. First, let’s talk about when your work, the intellectual property (IP), receives copyright protection.

Copyright Protection Begins At The Moment Of Creation

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, “Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.” Additionally, you do not have to file for copyright protection for your creations to be protected, only if you wish to file a lawsuit. So, if your work is being infringed upon, it’s time to take action. Below you’ll find helpful tips and tricks for identifying, documenting, and reporting copyright infringement.

Gather Information

  • Record URLs for any infringing content
  • Record URLs for your original posts
  • Gather evidence to support that you are the author of the content. A word of caution: Provide only what you need and nothing more and watermark any additional content if it is to be included with your complaint.

Documenting

It’s important to thoroughly document the URLs (including the links to your own posts) from the step above. Take special care to capture identifying information about the website, such as the URL, usernames, and timestamps for publishing.

Filing a complaint (website)

Some spammy websites do not include contact information such as an About Page or a Contact Form so tools like Hosting Checker will help you identify the hosting company to report abuse (usually found in support documentation). Tip: Search Google for the website host’s name + copyright infringement and you should find the right documentation.

Filing a complaint (social media)

If your content appears on any of the following social media platforms without your consent, you can easily file a complaint with the documentation you gathered in the above step. Below are links to each platform’s help documentation for your convenience.

Proactive Tips For Protecting Your IP

Apply a Watermark

To better protect your images (and to inconvenience the infringer) consider applying a watermark. The most effective placement is in the dead center of an image with just enough visibility for it to appear clearly. It’s not ideal, of course, but it might deter someone from publishing your content on their website. (You’ll notice I went a little overboard for satire)

Online Tools to Fight Image Theft

The following tools can help you track down infringement quickly, but there are pros and cons to each. If you want to learn more about each tool, click the links below:

Go forth and be excellent to each other.

Photo of my first cookie puzzle for tax. And reposted to fix the formatting errors because it was rough on mobile.


r/cookiedecorating 15h ago

Live from my kitchen…

Post image
289 Upvotes

I had the opportunity to donate a set+future order for a silent charity auction. It was SNL themed and I had way too much fun with picking the design!


r/cookiedecorating 13h ago

Hoping this B2S cookie set (for a Labubu obsessed customer) helps ease the transition to 5th grade, tomorrow! 💗

Post image
141 Upvotes

Still not sold on these guys but I knew I’d be asked to make one eventually! 🙃


r/cookiedecorating 17h ago

Birthday Sometimes you gotta just have that dog in ya. That 1.50 Costco dog.

Thumbnail
gallery
279 Upvotes

r/cookiedecorating 18h ago

First and probably last paid order 😂

Thumbnail
gallery
131 Upvotes

This was my first paid order and for how much work it took, I way undercharged. But she asked me to do them and I said yes before I could really think about. Lesson learned for next time 🤷🏼‍♀️


r/cookiedecorating 10h ago

Practice makes progress

Post image
28 Upvotes

I made 28 labubu cookies. I started with the blue ones and ended with the green ones 🤪


r/cookiedecorating 17h ago

Birthday Sometimes you gotta just have that dog in ya. That 1.50 Costco dog.

Thumbnail
gallery
40 Upvotes

r/cookiedecorating 21h ago

Cinnamaroll!

Thumbnail
gallery
71 Upvotes

r/cookiedecorating 7h ago

Pets

4 Upvotes

We have been considering getting a golden retriever for a while now. My biggest concern is the shedding and the chance of hair coming in contact with my cookies. Does anyone have any experience with this? We live in a ranch with no basement so keeping it on another floor isn’t possible. Also open to other breeds that are similar if anyone has suggestions!


r/cookiedecorating 4h ago

Why is my royal icing colour fading? (proven not to be butter bleed)

Thumbnail
gallery
2 Upvotes

This happened on my cookies and I've heard people describe the same issue as butter bleed. This didn't make sense though because my cookie recipe isn't high fat and they sit on paper towels for 24 hours after baking.

I did an experiment and put the same red icing on wax paper and, as I suspected, the same thing happened. So it is not the cookies, but the icing itself. This whole time, I thought this strange fading was due to butter bleed, but I don't think it has ever been that.

Why is this happening? First picture is the day I put it on the wax paper and second picture is three days later. This same thing has also happened to icing dried on a spatula.


r/cookiedecorating 7h ago

Help Needed Please suggest an easy design

2 Upvotes

Ive been baking for a long time but I’ve never decorated a cookie. Please suggest me the easiest cookie design with initials of the couple that I can do for an upcoming engagement of my cousin.

Thank you 🙏


r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

Silly goose! Was loving this theme

Thumbnail
gallery
205 Upvotes

r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

Still very new - reminiscing on honeymoon a year ago!

Thumbnail
gallery
223 Upvotes

A year ago around this time I had just returned from my honeymoon. Tried to create an Italy-inspired set because I miss it so much! Still struggling with icing consistency, but at least it tasted good! (Icing was orange and lemon flavored).


r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

Young wild and three!

Post image
103 Upvotes

r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

Stitch themed

Post image
47 Upvotes

My nieces bday cookies :) not thrilled with how the lettering turned out but overall pretty happy with them


r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

Another all hand cut custom order!

Post image
126 Upvotes

Housewarming!


r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

When your two fav hobbies collide

Thumbnail
gallery
100 Upvotes

I made these for Valentine’s Day this year to take on a birding trip with friends, to Minnesota, to see some special owls. We are all birders/wildlife photographers and I also have a cookie side hustle. They were a hit despite me nitpicking my painting skills😆


r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

When you can’t find a cutter, make one!

Thumbnail
gallery
78 Upvotes

On a few of my recent custom posts people have asked me where I got my cutters so I thought I would make this post and hopefully help some people out if they’re interested!

So, I make a lot of custom orders and I’m very picky about it! So when I can’t find a cutter that suits what I need, I draw a template, cut it out and hand cut it from frozen dough! Then I wipe them down and organize them in these photo boxes alphabetically by category! It def takes a lot longer and one of the biggest challenges is getting the size/scale right, but the results are def worth it!


r/cookiedecorating 2d ago

Beautifully, completely wrong 😅

Post image
269 Upvotes

Made these beautiful, virtually perfect characters….

Only to find out that I made them the wrong flavor. 🙄 Lucky (?) for her, my screw up meant free minis and a groveling apology 😅


r/cookiedecorating 2d ago

Another bluey set for a very special first birthday!

Post image
340 Upvotes

r/cookiedecorating 2d ago

Never have I ever…

Thumbnail
gallery
98 Upvotes

Lots of firsts with this order. Never have I ever decorated this many cookies in one day. Never have I ever done the same design for the entire order. Never have I ever painted with icing.

The order request was three dozen with a heart with thank you either on the packaging or cookie. I got to pick the colors and design.


r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

Silver Luster Dust

1 Upvotes

Anyone use the silver luster dust from Truly Mad Plastics? It states it's for decoration only, but SO many reviews on Etsy make it seem like people use it for cookies that are meant to be eaten.

I'm on the search for a silver that looks way better than what I have (Jenna Rae is NOT in stock!) and am really struggling to find it.


r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

Multiple orders

2 Upvotes

I have a lot of larger orders coming up in September. Please give me all your tips on how I can prep in advance. How soon can I start without anything going bad? I do have a heat sealer so I know I can freeze a lot, but not sure how long is too long. TIA!


r/cookiedecorating 2d ago

Help Needed Help! Any idea where I could get cutters like these?

Post image
21 Upvotes

r/cookiedecorating 1d ago

Cookie help

0 Upvotes

My no spread sugar cookies taste weird like a weird sour chemically taste idk how to explain it but they are nasty and I’m trying to start my small business but nothing seems to work can anyone help maybe like a good recipe or some tips on why this might be happening please ?


r/cookiedecorating 2d ago

Promoting myself

6 Upvotes

Doing some custom cookies for a family members shower. What’s the best way to promote myself without being tacky? Should I just have business cards or should I put stickers on the bags of cookies? It’ll my first time putting myself out there. Everyone is always saying to do it, so I’m giving it a shot!