Has anyone seen in American Cake Decorating, August/September edition, that companies are coming after cake decorators for infringing on their copywritten characters, such as Disney, Warner Bros, Marvel and others? A person has to get permission to use these characters. That will be expensive.
Vicky
Michael Eisner (CEO of Disney) would go after his Own sweet little grandma!
Theresa 
If you have this addition of ACD this article is a great read and explains it pretty clearly. It also also has solutions on how to handle customers that want this type of cake and other ideas to do so that you are not breaking copyright laws.
Any cake pan that Wilton sells of a character, (Micky, Pooh, Fairly Odd Parents, Superman, and so on...) is stamped as for home use only. Which means your average mom can make the cake for their child, or even their neighbors child but you can not make the cake and sell it.
Copyright also included any other way you can put the image on the cake, such as FBCT, color flow pieces, fondant figures, as well as Edible Images (printed at home, not bought).
Finding you and proving it is another story. If they intend on coming after every baker using copyrighted material that is going to be one very $expensive$, time consuming venture! This is why I am careful as to what I offer on my website.
The few Disney pans I bought made me go hmmm: why isn't the big D offering a license at a fee along with the pan?
Sorry if I sound cranky, but I watched that conglomerate destroy some very pristine natural Florida beauty in the name of the almighty buck. 
They are protecting their brand. I can completely understand it. I believe that if they fail to protect it they can lose some of their rights to it. Can't swear that is true, but I seem to remember something to that effect from business law classes years ago.
If you have this addition of ACD this article is a great read and explains it pretty clearly. It also also has solutions on how to handle customers that want this type of cake and other ideas to do so that you are not breaking copyright laws.
I have never heard of this magazine. What were some of the ideas so that you are not breaking copyright laws?
The magazine is American Cake Decorating. It's a great magazine, though a little bit pricey. The website is http://www.americancakedecorating.com. I would be happy to scan the article and post it, if I'm allowed. Is that something I can do? I think it's a very important article for all decorators to read.
that it is crazy!.....
what about those barney costumes for kids parties? they are not purple and they dont look exactly like him ..but it is similar? can u make a cake similar but no really, like those people that wear those costumes ???
I agree with Morg.
People are always going to want those kinds of cakes, and as long as Wilton keeps making them--
Really, though--What's the point of even MAKING the darned pans, if they don't want people using them? They make a FRANKLIN MINT off of those pans, and Wilton pays Disney HUGE money to do it.
Screw their crackdowns. I'd like to see 'em try.
--Knox--
I would be happy to scan the article and post it, if I'm allowed. Is that something I can do?
No. It's copyrighted material and can't be posted in the forums without permssion of the copyright owner (ACD).
Thanks Lisa. I'm glad I asked before doing it. I would have broken a copyright law by trying to help people not break copyright laws!!! LOL 
In the early 80s when I took ceramics, there were molds of "care bears" but they were not exact. The teacher said that there has to be seven things different in order for a look-alike to not break a copyright law. (Was it seven?) Do you remember reading that in the article -- anybody who read it?
Could you maybe do the cake for free for a friend then later accept a donation from them toward say that new pan that you were wanting 
. Just trying to figure out ways around it.
Trading something of value for a copywrited image is just the same as selling it.
There are people who try lots of gimicks to make this ok, but none are legal. You can't charge $25 for the packaging and the cake is free. Or charge for the delivery. blah blah blah
Just say "no" to reproducing copywrited images. Decorators have plenty of talent to make an acceptable design for any occasion. Let the parents buy the themed toys instead.
I've yet to make a liscensed character cake. However, I like what I read somewhere on here. They worded it that the copyright laws condone (sp?) baking said cakes for "Family and Friends". One talented baker said that she makes character cakes for family, and friends, and friends that she just hasn't met, yet! I thought that was a cute way to put it.
On the other hand, I LOVE it when there are toys and goodies on a cake! Don't y'all remember taking out the clown-head toothpicks from your cake, and licking the icing off? That was one of the best parts! I'm all for the parents providing the plastic toys to add to the look of the cake!
Guess you could say I'm neutral. Happy baking, everyone!
Everytime we do a FBCT we are breaking copywright law, especially with cartoon characters and such, The thing is, unless you actually sell a cake to a member of the cake police, who is going to know? Wilton sells so many of those character pans that there are too many people making them to even consider going after them, unless they do a Napster kind of suit.
scoobam ... I've never seen an issue of ACD in a store. As far as I know, you can only purchase it on their website www.americancakedecorating.com
as I am only about three weeks away from fighting this battle on a daily basis with my students -- in school we call it plagiarism.
and as one who is a member of the creative arts community called theatre --
1) remember the commandment: "Thou shalt not steal" -- this IS theft, pure and simple.
2) and just what kind of an example are we setting for children when we do this...."it's alright so long as it makes me happy" ??? WHOA!!! just think where that logic can take you == right to "bang, bang -- you're dead --and I'm happy you are!" or "shoot-up, snort-up, drink-up ---it makes me happy to be on drugs"
3) we're dealing w/ "intellectual property" what copyrighting (note the CORRECT spelling copy + RIGHT as in you have "the right to make a copy") is designed to protect.
think of the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth we've all read on here when "she stole MY cake!!!!!!!" --- ah ha!!!! someone violated your "intellectual property right" and you feel violated! hurts doesn't it and here we're only talking about your feelings.
But, consider: what if you came up with a "signature cake" -- one special design of your personal creation and then someone else copied it and sold it (worse yet for less than you do) and kept all the money for them self?? I doubt "steamed" would adequately cover your feelings on that!!
BUT that is exactly what is happening when anyone copies an image created by anyone else who has designed/drawn/created that image with the intent to sell it as a way to generate INCOME.
Yes, it seems tempting to justify "but they're a big corporation -- they make plenty of money, etc. blah, blah, blah." Still doesn't make it right. THAT is a source of their income that pays the bills and keeps new product coming.
Back to signature cake --- and worse yet, the person "adapts" it a touch, but still obviously yours and in adapting it makes it look "cheap, tawdry, ugly" -- how far past "steamed" are we now.
Back to corporation: those images also represent their "image" as a company and having them rendered in poor fashion doesn't help them in any way.
Yes, there are "fair use" rules -- but those are so! tightly drawn that there is only a very narrow way to justify doing copyrighted images on cakes for sale or barter (and that is the proper term for "here -- I'll make XYZ if you give me item ABC, etc. --- and barter IS a legal exchange the same as exchanging money) .
WHAT is that narrow way you ask: buy the licensed decorator kits such as DecoPac sells or the parents buy the toys and add them. Then it's legal.
DecoPac has specially licensed the images for resale to decorators to use on cakes.
copyright insures that the creator of the image:
1) controls the images use/reproduction
2) gets paid for the images use/reproduction
I'll illustrate that four ways:
1)an actor in a commercial is paid an upfront fee according to union scale...it can be as little as $250 for a days work. but then, every time that commercial is shown, the actor receives a "residual" -- a small amount of money, as little as 5 cents or so. But, do the math...think of how often a commercial can be shown all day/week/month across the networks. Those nickels add up fast!
2) on radio, every time you hear a song, the artist receives a "needle drop" fee again of just pennies....but then "I'm going nuts here....could they stop playing that same song over and over and ...." those pennies add up fast considering how many stations are playing it to drive me nuts!!!! (yes, I know...too late on that!)
3) in theatre, every time a school does a show, we pay a small royalty for each performance. Last I checked, for "The Odd Couple" it was $60 for the first performance and $40 for each additional. And that pales in comparison to the royalties for a musical. I could save nearly $2,000 a musical if I didn't have to pay the royalties! but i do...that's how the people who created it continue to make their livelihood.
4) so, yes, we'd all love to Nemo and Stitch and Elmo, etc and sell them, but Disney, CTW (Children's Television Workshop) and any other company that creates a commercial image like Thomas the tank, etc. make their livelihood off of those images and their resale and want them done to THEIR standard of quality! And as much as we love to hate big corporations and see them as greedy and evil, etc. -- they, like you and I are just trying to make a living and keep all their employees paid and continuing to create.
------------------
each of us has to live with his/her own conscience
Wow .. I think Doug said it all, and perfectly. 
I used to make character cakes (there are pictures of them in my photos), but I don't do it anymore. Yes, my customers absolutely loved them and were thrilled that they could get them from me but nowhere else (that should have been a red flag!!). But, I got tired of worrying that the customer (if I didn't know them) was actually a secret shopper for Disney or WB or CTW or whatever big company, and I also just knew it wasn't right.
It doesn't make you a bad person if you choose to make and sell character cakes ... I think it just depends on how much risk you are willing to take and how much you are willing to lose for taking that risk. Yes, the chance of ever getting caught is probably pretty slim, but think about what you could lose if you do get caught. Those big companies have lots of money and can take lots of your money if they want to. Like others have said, there are plenty of things you can do to make a cake cute and fun without actually drawing the copyrighted image in icing. Plus, as Doug said, who says that my Nemo or Elmo or Thomas looks the way the artist who created that image would want it to? I may think it looks just perfect, but Disney, WB, or CTW hasn't given their seal of approval to my rendition of the image. Just my two cents.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%