I Need Some Help/advice!!

Decorating By IloveEmmaCakes Updated 11 Oct 2008 , 2:09pm by IloveEmmaCakes

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IloveEmmaCakes Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 4:33pm
post #1 of 25

I have to make a scooby doo cake!! The customer wants ALL of the scooby doo character figurines and the mystery machine Figurine on the cake! I priced them and all together it's going to be about $50 for all of them.. icon_eek.gif So I was thinking about just asking her if I could "draw" the characters on the cake.. (with icing)..
I need some advice.. I've never done this.. Is it possible to print out a picture and free hand/trace the picture on wax paper then let it dry and take it off and have it hard enough to place standing up on the cake?!

Or are there any other ways to do something similar?

PLEASE HELP!!

24 replies
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JoAnnB Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 4:54pm
post #2 of 25

It is illegal to create and sell those and many other characters. they are protected images. the best you can do is add toys to represent the figures.

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IloveEmmaCakes Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:03pm
post #3 of 25

So it's either buy the figures or make them from fondant?

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Kellie1583 Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:06pm
post #4 of 25

It is my understanding that even creating them from fondant is copyright infringement. Someone correct me if I am wrong please, but I don't think you can create any copyrighted objects from any material for profit.

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ATCakes Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:07pm
post #5 of 25

I had the same problem with Super Mario Bros. Both my client & I looked on Ebay. She finally found something & it was a lot cheaper.

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TexasSugar Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:12pm
post #6 of 25

You can not recreate a copyrighted character in any way shape of form and legally sell it. That includes freehanding it, FBCTs, Royal Icing/Color Flow pieces, chocolate transfers as well as home printed edible images and findant/gumpaste/candy clay figures.

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IloveEmmaCakes Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:12pm
post #7 of 25

I've looked online and on here and I've seen ALOT of scooby doo pictures that people looked at to then make in fondant..

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IloveEmmaCakes Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:24pm
post #10 of 25

TexasSugar.. What about your ghostbusters FBCT.. That's like something that I wanted to do.. Is that illegal? Or would I be able to do it?

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kelleym Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:33pm
post #11 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by IloveEmmaCakes

I've looked online and on here and I've seen ALOT of scooby doo pictures that people looked at to then make in fondant..




It's illegal to sell them, not to make them. People could be making them for their own children/friends/family free of charge. Or they could be selling them and violating copyright laws, putting themselves at risk of a $50,000 fine per violation. icon_confused.gif

Buy some toys and coordinate the cake to match. It's not worth the risk.

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IloveEmmaCakes Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:42pm
post #12 of 25

I understand the law and I'm not going to be doing it if it's illegal.. But what about all the cakes that are on here that people are selling?
I'm asking for suggestions other than TOYS..
I think putting toys on cakes is tacky.. I like to MAKE everything on the cake..
What about all the cakes you see on here with elmo, finding nemo, blue's clue's, barbie, barney, spider man, batman, ect..
Are all those people breaking the law by making them the way they do?
I just wanna know how everybody is able to make them, but I'm not..

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ShayShay Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:48pm
post #13 of 25

Brittany, I understand your frustration. PM me and I will explain.

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IloveEmmaCakes Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:50pm
post #14 of 25

ShayShay will you PM me? I don't have any idea how to do it.. Sorry..

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PinkZiab Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:50pm
post #15 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by IloveEmmaCakes

I understand the law and I'm not going to be doing it if it's illegal.. But what about all the cakes that are on here that people are selling?
I'm asking for suggestions other than TOYS..
I think putting toys on cakes is tacky.. I like to MAKE everything on the cake..
What about all the cakes you see on here with elmo, finding nemo, blue's clue's, barbie, barney, spider man, batman, ect..
Are all those people breaking the law by making them the way they do?
I just wanna know how everybody is able to make them, but I'm not..




Yes anyone who sells a cake with copyrighted image that they made themselves (either by FBCT, fondant figuresm etc) without express written permission of the copyright holder (disney, hanna barbera, DC comics, etc.) is technically breaking the law. But, people do it anyway... it's up to you whether or not you are willing to take the risk.

I know of many famous cake designers who routinely make very grand cakes with famous, copyrighted characters on them... they don't however advertise that they do this, nor do they post pictures of those products on their websites afterward. I saw a 4-tier kung fu panda cake being made that would take your BREATH away it was so phenomenal... but it'll never be seen by the public because the decorator obviously doesn't want to get pinched, so it'll never appear on the website. I'm not telling you whether you should or shouldn't, but if you decide to go ahead with it, just be smart about it so it doesn't come back to bite you in the a$$.

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KHalstead Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:50pm
post #16 of 25

if they are selling them, then yes they are breaking the law! Not all cakes with toys on them are cheesy either!! There are plenty of other elements that you could "make" that are edible...including ghosts, swamp monsters,etc. that are "generic" and not copyrighted.
If you MAKE a character in any form it is ILLEGAL. Even if you change the nose or the hair or call it something else...it's still illegal.

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aligotmatt Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:52pm
post #17 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by IloveEmmaCakes

I understand the law and I'm not going to be doing it if it's illegal.. But what about all the cakes that are on here that people are selling?
I'm asking for suggestions other than TOYS..
I think putting toys on cakes is tacky.. I like to MAKE everything on the cake..
What about all the cakes you see on here with elmo, finding nemo, blue's clue's, barbie, barney, spider man, batman, ect..
Are all those people breaking the law by making them the way they do?
I just wanna know how everybody is able to make them, but I'm not..




Yes, everyone is breaking the law. You can buy decorator packs with the toys for each cake, it gives you one cake licensing to sell, like the cakes at walmart... you can also buy licensed edible images and can use them on one cake. As long as the big corp gets their $$...

I had a potential customer call me and ask for a winnie the pooh cake. It was for a BIG birthday party, 4 tier, could have been big $$. I told her I could do a cute background and she could buy some pooh toys to put on the cake because I could not reproduce legally... I went on to tell her that she could probably find someone willing to take the risk and break the copyright law, but it wasn't going to be me.

Now, I'm not sure what you're running, but it says you're in Texas and I'm pretty sure you can't even run a home bakery there... so if you're taking that risk in selling product too...

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ShayShay Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:55pm
post #18 of 25

Brittany, I think you need to go into your settings. I tried but the option is not available for you. Go into your "Forum Info" and look for the option.

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ShayShay Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:57pm
post #19 of 25

Brittany, I think you need to go into your settings. I tried but the option is not available for you. Go into your "Forum Info" and look for the option

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TexasSugar Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 5:57pm
post #20 of 25

You mentioned my Ghost Buster cake. That cake was done for my friend's son, free of charge, my gift to him. I've never charged her for her kids cakes, so I did not make money off that cake. Same thing with my Scooby Doo cake. That cake was made for my nephew, again a freeby.

It is when money changes hands that you are breaking the Copyright Infringement Laws. There for because I didn't get paid in any way shape or form for the cakes mentioned above I did not break the law making them.

Not every cake that is posted on here or online are sold. There are just as many members here that are doing cakes for their family and friends free of charge as there are those that are in the business and selling cakes to the public.

Many people either do not know or understand the law, think that because they did the cake for donation only it is okay, or they do it knowing the laws not carrying or worrying if they get caught doing it. Just because they are doing it and are not getting caught doing it does not mean they are doing it legally. It is still illegal to do.

So you have to decide what is best for you. Do you want to make the cake with the risks involved just because other people have done it, or do you want to do what is right legally?

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IloveEmmaCakes Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 6:04pm
post #21 of 25

Aligotmatt, I am in Tx and you CAN run an @ home bakery here.

I did tell the lady that I would buy the toys to put on it and she didn't want that so I told her that I wouldn't do it..

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IloveEmmaCakes Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 6:11pm
post #22 of 25

ShayShay.. Here's my email address. I can't get it to work..

[email protected]

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-K8memphis Posted 10 Oct 2008 , 8:11pm
post #23 of 25

There's another facet of this that is another personal choice. Bakeries who purchase the specific kits from the purveyors have the right to sell cakes with those images that are marketed and purchased for that purpose.

People who purchase a random toy or whatever to place on a cake are using the likeness of the image to conduct/promote/enliven their business and make money. Which to some is also infringement. In my mind it does not satisfy the copyright issue but that's my choice on it. We all have to make our own decisions.

More copyright minutiae.

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kelleym Posted 11 Oct 2008 , 6:04am
post #24 of 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by IloveEmmaCakes

Aligotmatt, I am in Tx and you CAN run an @ home bakery here.




This is not correct. You can build a separate kitchen on your property, but you cannot sell food made in the same kitchen you cook for yourself and your family in. This is state law per the Texas Food Establishment Rules §229.167 (d)(10): "Private homes and living or sleeping quarters, use prohibition. A private home, a room used as living or sleeping quarters, or an area directly opening into a room used as living or sleeping quarters may not be used for conducting food establishment operations.â

It sucks, and all us Texas bakers are in the same boat. If there were a way around it, well, one of us would have found it by now. icon_wink.gif Several Texas CC'ers have been fined by their local health departments or ordered to cease and desist working from home. Here are a couple of other threads about it:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-598050-texas.html
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-46933-texas.html
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-259883-texas.html

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IloveEmmaCakes Posted 11 Oct 2008 , 2:09pm
post #25 of 25

Yes, I know the law very well. And I choose to abide by it. When my husband and I moved here we found a very nice condo that has 2 kitchens. One is upstairs (my baking kitchen, closed off and not attached to any other rooms) Then there's the family kitchen (our kitchen). The only thing upstairs IS the kitchen and my bathroom when you first enter the upstairs..

So therefore, I can run an @ home bakery. I've had the health dept. come out here before and give me the "OK".

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