Are you as excited as we are for the premiere of Despicable Me 2 on July 3? Check out these Top Despicable Me Cakes featuring your favorite characters from the film, including plenty of mischevious minions!
What are your thoughts on the copyright laws for duplicating copyrighted characters! I've been hearing so much about it lately and it scares me to think of being sued for making a Louis Vuitton Purse cake, or a Mickey Mouse, or a Despicable Me cake!
Great question, WestTexasCaker - I often wonder the very same thing. Maybe Jason from the forums can weigh in on the legal standards that are normally in place.
By the way - I have no words to describe how truly awesome the skills are that are displayed here. Good on ya, everyone!! Wish I could do that...
Thank you for bringing up Copyright, WestTexasCaker. I work at a retail bakery in Florida and we are not legally allowed to make a profit off of a cake using someone else's copyrighted art. We get a letter from the NFL Team in our town for every cake they order with their logo on it.
The demonstrator is clearly outside of the US where the copyright laws have no teeth. I applaud the mom's making awesome cakes for their kids. (I've always said if you can't afford it, learn how to do it yourself.) But I'm pissed to see someone selling these cakes in the US for a profit without penalty while we stick to the letter of the law. The days of leniency may be gone as soon as the economic tide starts to change. And a LOT of people look at this site - including attorneys representing the rights of these license owners. Baker beware. Disney has no mercy and I don't think Universal will be much kinder.
I heard a story about a baker that was sued by Disney. They placed three year old children on the courtroom floor and revealed a picture of the cake that was made which had a silhouette of Mickey Mouse's ears. They all hollered, "Mickey!" and the baker was fined $25,000 plus attorney and court fees. They're no longer in business.
BTW Cake Central - I feel some of these bakers with watermarks clearly showing their US company name on their posted pic encourages copyright infringement by other bakers desperate to make a buck in this cut throat economic environment. Sweet Surrender Bakes/Our Little Cakery and Geelicious Confections are showcasing them on their websites/facebook pages (as well as many other copyrighted characters) as products they make. Perhaps they shouldn't be allowed a watermark or mention of their business to make a true "Contest Entry"? And maybe a disclaimer with the demos? I'm all for giving credit to the artists. The decorators on this site contribute terrific ideas and show immense creativity which fuels us all. I just want a fair playing ground to make my living.
thank you, wtmifm167 - that is great information to know. I figured that would be the case.
It begs another question in my mind, then - do you know if a U.S. home baker like me can make something like this as a gift - taking no money in exchange for goods or services, but still be in the wrong? I mean, as an example, a particular cake supply company sells various character cake pans for the express result of making a cake that recreates that character. If I make that cake and give it as a gift to a child at a friend's birthday party but take no payment, neither for ingredients nor my time, is this still okay to do without having to secure permission from the copyright holder? I wish there was some guidelines that we newbies could start with.
Hi, I am not an expert on the law, I am a shop owner.
The ICES (International Cake Exploration Societe') classes on copyright law, I have attended, advised us in class, the copyright law states it is illegal to reproduce, distribute, display the copyrighted work unless you have the permission of the copyright holder. That should answer your question on making something that is copyrighted.
Next, the character pans, like Wilton. If you look at the package, when it was purchased, it used to state for home use or personal use. It may still have that on the wrapper.
Does it bother me when I see a copyrighted stuff on my favorite website?
Yes, but I am not in charge of that, nor am I, the copyright police.
Hi all. My understanding here (in the UK) is that it is fine to make these cakes for family and friends but not for commercial use. So, reading the captions for many of these cakes, it looks like they have been made by Mums/Auntie's etc for their kids/family which is fine, and (I guess) fine for them to put it on their own personal CC/facebook page, but as soon as they start watermarking them and thereby effectively advertising for their business, there are copyright issues.
I have just started a small business and am amazed by how many people either don't know or don't care about this. I have seen local cake makers publicise character cakes for all sorts of characters and I am 99% certain they don't have a licence...but hey, what can you do? I made a few character cakes a year or so ago for family and everyone keeps telling me to market them and no-one will care...too much of a risk if you ask me :-) Fantastic cakes though...I want one for my next birthday!!
In reply to the copyright question, it comes down to determination of fair use. There are multiple factors that go into whether the use of copyrighted material or a copyrighted image is considered fair use. The only real way to determine whether a use can be considered fair use is to have it tried in court.
Having said that, one of the factors of fair use is its affect on the potential market. This means, did your use of the material undermine the copyright owner of income or undermine a potential market for the work. On one hand, I doubt anyone that makes a personal cake for family or friend is depriving The Disney(tm) Company or Universal(tm) of any income. In fact, one might say it continues to promote income to those entities.
There might, however, be some concern if a business advertises the use of the copyrighted material in order to promote their own business or makes a profit on the use of the copyrighted material.
Even if a business makes a cake for a client with a copyrighted image or character, as long as they don't flaunt it in general public, it is probably not worth the expense of a lawsuit. But I would be concerned with a more general public display of the work.
I am not a lawyer or legal council. These are just things I have gleaned over the years from other industries with regards to copyright material.
Given all these copyright questions, why did CakeCentral feature these copyrighted images? That has also been done with other copyrighted images. Why does CakeCentral even accept photos of copyrighted cakes--it only promotes using these images.
I received an email and package from an attorney regarding a cake that I had made for my nephew's groom's cake. They stated that I had violated the copyright of the client's logo and requested that, in order to avoid further action, I remove all pictures of that cake from the internet. So, I did. I still have printed photos of all of my cakes available for potential clients to view...they just aren't online.
gizangel
libs
ApelilaRains
ButRCream
nancysmom
oohyahitskat
devolicakes
Carisascakes
lkern777
jazzstar
peggyslee
kathie-d
nursepr19
The4manxies
TJCanadian
Cakes by Erin S
Jackie
All of these cakes and cupcakes are awesome!
What are your thoughts on the copyright laws for duplicating copyrighted characters! I've been hearing so much about it lately and it scares me to think of being sued for making a Louis Vuitton Purse cake, or a Mickey Mouse, or a Despicable Me cake!
wooooo very pretty
Great question, WestTexasCaker - I often wonder the very same thing. Maybe Jason from the forums can weigh in on the legal standards that are normally in place.
By the way - I have no words to describe how truly awesome the skills are that are displayed here. Good on ya, everyone!! Wish I could do that...
To start - these are cool cakes.
Thank you for bringing up Copyright, WestTexasCaker. I work at a retail bakery in Florida and we are not legally allowed to make a profit off of a cake using someone else's copyrighted art. We get a letter from the NFL Team in our town for every cake they order with their logo on it.
The demonstrator is clearly outside of the US where the copyright laws have no teeth. I applaud the mom's making awesome cakes for their kids. (I've always said if you can't afford it, learn how to do it yourself.) But I'm pissed to see someone selling these cakes in the US for a profit without penalty while we stick to the letter of the law. The days of leniency may be gone as soon as the economic tide starts to change. And a LOT of people look at this site - including attorneys representing the rights of these license owners. Baker beware. Disney has no mercy and I don't think Universal will be much kinder.
I heard a story about a baker that was sued by Disney. They placed three year old children on the courtroom floor and revealed a picture of the cake that was made which had a silhouette of Mickey Mouse's ears. They all hollered, "Mickey!" and the baker was fined $25,000 plus attorney and court fees. They're no longer in business.
BTW Cake Central - I feel some of these bakers with watermarks clearly showing their US company name on their posted pic encourages copyright infringement by other bakers desperate to make a buck in this cut throat economic environment. Sweet Surrender Bakes/Our Little Cakery and Geelicious Confections are showcasing them on their websites/facebook pages (as well as many other copyrighted characters) as products they make. Perhaps they shouldn't be allowed a watermark or mention of their business to make a true "Contest Entry"? And maybe a disclaimer with the demos? I'm all for giving credit to the artists. The decorators on this site contribute terrific ideas and show immense creativity which fuels us all. I just want a fair playing ground to make my living.
thank you, wtmifm167 - that is great information to know. I figured that would be the case.
It begs another question in my mind, then - do you know if a U.S. home baker like me can make something like this as a gift - taking no money in exchange for goods or services, but still be in the wrong? I mean, as an example, a particular cake supply company sells various character cake pans for the express result of making a cake that recreates that character. If I make that cake and give it as a gift to a child at a friend's birthday party but take no payment, neither for ingredients nor my time, is this still okay to do without having to secure permission from the copyright holder? I wish there was some guidelines that we newbies could start with.
Hi, I am not an expert on the law, I am a shop owner.
The ICES (International Cake Exploration Societe') classes on copyright law, I have attended, advised us in class, the copyright law states it is illegal to reproduce, distribute, display the copyrighted work unless you have the permission of the copyright holder. That should answer your question on making something that is copyrighted.
Next, the character pans, like Wilton. If you look at the package, when it was purchased, it used to state for home use or personal use. It may still have that on the wrapper.
Does it bother me when I see a copyrighted stuff on my favorite website? Yes, but I am not in charge of that, nor am I, the copyright police.
Thank you, CindiM.
Hi all. My understanding here (in the UK) is that it is fine to make these cakes for family and friends but not for commercial use. So, reading the captions for many of these cakes, it looks like they have been made by Mums/Auntie's etc for their kids/family which is fine, and (I guess) fine for them to put it on their own personal CC/facebook page, but as soon as they start watermarking them and thereby effectively advertising for their business, there are copyright issues.
I have just started a small business and am amazed by how many people either don't know or don't care about this. I have seen local cake makers publicise character cakes for all sorts of characters and I am 99% certain they don't have a licence...but hey, what can you do? I made a few character cakes a year or so ago for family and everyone keeps telling me to market them and no-one will care...too much of a risk if you ask me :-) Fantastic cakes though...I want one for my next birthday!!
In reply to the copyright question, it comes down to determination of fair use. There are multiple factors that go into whether the use of copyrighted material or a copyrighted image is considered fair use. The only real way to determine whether a use can be considered fair use is to have it tried in court. Having said that, one of the factors of fair use is its affect on the potential market. This means, did your use of the material undermine the copyright owner of income or undermine a potential market for the work. On one hand, I doubt anyone that makes a personal cake for family or friend is depriving The Disney(tm) Company or Universal(tm) of any income. In fact, one might say it continues to promote income to those entities. There might, however, be some concern if a business advertises the use of the copyrighted material in order to promote their own business or makes a profit on the use of the copyrighted material. Even if a business makes a cake for a client with a copyrighted image or character, as long as they don't flaunt it in general public, it is probably not worth the expense of a lawsuit. But I would be concerned with a more general public display of the work. I am not a lawyer or legal council. These are just things I have gleaned over the years from other industries with regards to copyright material.
Given all these copyright questions, why did CakeCentral feature these copyrighted images? That has also been done with other copyrighted images. Why does CakeCentral even accept photos of copyrighted cakes--it only promotes using these images.
I received an email and package from an attorney regarding a cake that I had made for my nephew's groom's cake. They stated that I had violated the copyright of the client's logo and requested that, in order to avoid further action, I remove all pictures of that cake from the internet. So, I did. I still have printed photos of all of my cakes available for potential clients to view...they just aren't online.