The vast majority of Disney's revenue comes from the intellectual property (IP) it has created. There is a very high demand for products and services that feature Disney's IP, so Disney can charge a premium price. This isn't greed, it's capitalist economics.

Last year Disney's net profit was $8B on revenue of $48.8B, and they employed 180,000 people. Without copyright protection most of that revenue would evaporate, and there would be no incentive to create new IP.

(For the record, I was a Cast Member at Disney World a few years ago - lovely experience, with awesome people.) 

To back up @johnson6ofus's statement:  No it's not greed.  It's a business.  They're in this to make money, just like everyone else.

Yes - Disney is *very* aggressive about protecting their copyright...however, they also follow the laws themselves.  Which is nice to know.  For example, the Star Tours attraction has been a part of Disney for years, and yet, they couldn't make any Star Wars-themed cakes at the parks because Disney didn't own the copyright, and I know that frustrated a lot of the bakeries because we got requests all. The. Time. Especially for boys' cakes.  (Yes, I know that they sold other Star Tours merchandise there at that time, but it was all ride-related, and under a specific contract.)  I was working there when Disney bought Lucasfilm, and everyone was so excited to be able to start using the Star Wars font, etc. on the cakes. 

Disney is one of the few brands with global recognition - seriously, find someone on this planet that doesn't know Disney! - and that didn't happen just by accident.  Merchandising is probably one of the largest revenue streams for them, and they take it seriously. 

So, can anyone help me figure out how far I can go without infringing copyright? I get a lot of requests for Mickey's Clubhouse cakes... is the shape of the clubhouse copyrighted? Gears? What's the best way to figure it out? I've heard it said that if the shape of the ears is "off" (i.e. not exactly as designed by Disney) then you're not infringing, but how far "off" does it have to be? Wish this was clear-cut.

it is clear cut -- trying to use it without being pinpoint accurate is still using it wrongly -- the copyright holders don't like that either because it a distortion of their character --

if you did a big strawberry shaped cake that's not an infringement of strawberry shortcake because no one has a copyright on strawberries -- but if you do mouse ears-- bam -- that's disney -- if it's disney clubhouse i would not do it -- if you blur the lines how will you explain to customers how it's wrong/dangerous/unethical -- if it's disney's it's disney's -- steer clear for best results --

and to add a note for fdusing when you do open a business you want to be sure no copyrighted images done for a cake are shown in photos -- the ones that were not sold and previously made for family 

The irony being that Disney seem to want you to break the rules with this magazine

https://www.eaglemoss.com/en-gb/crafts-cooking/disney-cakes-1/

My wife and I get this magazine, in fact it's what gave me my interest in cake making in the first place. It's going up to 90 issues now, with a peice of equipment (moulds, colours, templates etc) with every issue.

Now, best will in the world, you would have to be a hardcore home baker to make that many Disney cakes for your friends and family so why would Disney release this is they didn't expect some people to use it for some form of business? Hell, their Facebook page is replete with images from businesses that have made Disney cakes!

Amusingly, since we subscribed to it, I've only had one person ask for a Disney related cake, a Frozen cake I'm making in a couple of months, and that's just going to have the figures pre-made to go on it :D

how do we know eagle moss is sanctioned by Disney? Is it an official Disney magazine?

Oh it's very official. It's a massive worlwide company, they do licences for a LOT of different things, such as Star Trek (I get the Start Trek Starships magazine as well), DC Comics, Marvel comics, Lord of the Rings, Dora the Explorer, James Bond and a lot more. 

This is their Facebook page as well https://www.facebook.com/DisneyCakesAndSweets?fref=ts

As you can see a LOT of people making their cakes. Some of them must be businsess.

Heh, I do wonder if it's meant as a trap. Sell people the magazine, wait for them to make the cake, post it on their FB page and sue the crap out of them  :D

The terms and conditions of the Eaglemoss site specifically say that commercial use is not allowed.

https://www.eaglemoss.com/en-gb/terms-and-conditions/

Oh I know the legal stuff is there, it just amuses me that they will aggressively go after people breaching the copyright etc, whilst at the same time, selling a magazine that gives explicit instructions on how to do it successfully :)

Looking at the facebook page, it seems like most of the cakes are homemade gifts, not charged for. However, that is a pretty fine line, and I'm sure a lot of bakeries get in trouble for not being aware of that line, especially with such a... well... "sticky" facebook page.

Yeah, it's a very addictive page to look through, some really good stuff on there. Also, some....not as good :S

It's interesting that someone earlier said it's impossible to get a licence. I've not seen many cake decorating site or business that doesn't have a Disney cake on there somewhere. Surely some of them must have a licence? What about the big names like Buddy Valestro and Ace Of Cakes' Duff?

It's not impossible to get a license, it's just very difficult. When Disney cakes appear on TV shows it's a safe bet that either the production company has secured a license for the rights to any character likenesses, or Disney itself has commissioned the cake.

Honestly, I don't understand why companies don't do the licencing for cakes and edibles differently.

I understand protecting the rights of the creators, as a music fan I'm all for it, but things like cakes are a temporary thing. After all, it's not like the customer is paying the money simply because it's a Disney character, they are also paying for it to be made. We all know that's where the money goes, the work involved in actually making the cake,

It's a win/win for Disney. it's free promotion of their characters and will increase their sales. Chances are, a customer ordering say, a Frozen cake, is also going to be buying a lot of frozen toys for presents as well. The cake is temporary, it's not going to last more than a few hours and doesn't really impact on Disney unless they start making their own cakes.

I guess it could impact on those cheap and nasty supermarket things that come with a pre-made picture of Anna and Elsa on them, but who wants those? ;) 

This is why Disney is protective of their licenses, and why they require you to go through a long process to be approved. They don't want this kind of mess out there "representing" them. http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2014/4/22/princess-impossible.html

 There are plenty of other companies who are strict about it, The Hello Kitty people and the Louis Vuitton people make regular sweeps on Etsy and other online marketplaces. Gerber has had listings with the word "onesie" taken down (it's their trademark) and Tiffany is known as another one that's really aggressive about people using the term "tiffany Blue" since they have the trademark on the phrase. Like others have said, if you don't show that you've made an effort to protect your trademarks and you do end up taking someone to court they can use that lack of effort against you.

There has been some great information posted in this thread.  I know I have learned something!  Seems the moral of the story is "NO means NO" but a lot of bakers are willing to try to skirt the issue at hand. 

I have volunteered with dog rescues and shelters for a long time now and some of these comments have started to remind me of that line of work.  We constantly run up against people who want to adopt certain pets that they are not legally allowed to keep.  Municipal ordinances, home owner's associations, ad landlords all regulate a person's choice of pets - especially certain dog breeds.  It never fails that you will hear from people who are determined to skirt around the laws in order to get what they want.  Guess who they contact when they get busted even after we have turned them away with a thorough explanation as to why we can not give them the pet of their choice?

Humans are an interesting creature.