Metria....Your stencil is GREAT! How much fun! I thought that SVG files were what both programs use. That is just the type of files the programs use (.svg) Anyway, whatever you did is great. I wanna do it!

You can use SVG files with Make The Cut but you don't have to.

it just occurred to me that I have SCAL v2.0. Maybe when the posts of comparing SCAL to MTC were made that feature (using non-SVG images) wasn't available yet.

Well I was so excited when I ordered my cricut cake off HSN last night. I mainly was excited because I do cookies - not cakes. Once I heard that you could freeze cookie dough and use the machine to cut out shapes, I was sold. But now I'm totally bummed after reading this thread. I was not aware of all these issues, and I do have a cookie business. I don't want to deal with they copyright issues that come up later. I just went onto HSN and canceled my order.
I'm thankful for this thread though - saved me $$ and disappointment later.

"Thanks for the link. I read the information and it did make some good points but I still have to argue on behalf of the consumers of technology. Where should the line be drawn where as consumers, when we buy and own a product, we should be able to use it however we like. Imagine if Dell came up and said something like, "from now on those that buy our computers can only use programs and software that we will now be making. No more microsoft office but instead our own office products and no choices for any other other programs either."

Remember the lawsuit? Microsoft was told they can't corner the market in a certain way.

My prediction: the licensing will be with the cartridges. I don't know a whole lot about any of this, but I assume the cartridge that comes with the machine is one with generic images. The cartridges with the licensed images will have the licensing fee attached if it's to be used professionally. That holds HSN harmless, unless the images they showed were part of the generic ones. I think it would also hold Provocraft harmless as techinically you could use the machine professionally as long as the cartridge used was one of the generic ones. I suppose the smartest thing at this point is for Provocraft to include the cost of the licensing in the purchase cost of the cartridge.

As far as Make the Cut, is the software proprietary? That's what Provocraft will have to prove- that the coding in the software is unique enough and is covered under the patents they currently hold. If Make the Cut broke into that code and changed it, was it changed enough to no longer be similar enough to Provocraft's software? If so, Make the Cut would probably win the lawsuit and the case would be like Microsoft.

Again, I don't know a whole lot about this, but that's my take on it for the moment.

I contacted HSN this afternoon and this is the email I got back...apparently they were unaware of the professional license as well:
It is clear to me that you feel discouraged by the information you received
regarding the use of the Cricut Cake machine for your business. I understand how concerned this situation has made you. I am very sorry for this negative experience and look forward to working together to ensure your satisfaction by providing you with the following information.

I apologize that you were not aware of Cricut's policy for using
their products for professional use. Regrettably, HSN was not made aware of this information until much later, after all orders were placed. For more
information regarding the licensing, I recommend that you visit
www.provocraft.com to read more about their "Angel Policy" for the Cricut Cake, as well as other ProvoCraft products.

If, after reading the terms and conditions outlined by ProvoCraft, you decide to return the Cricut Cake and Cartridges, please know that we do offer a generous 30-day return policy. You may return the items to HSN for a full refund of your purchase price, original shipping and handling and applicable tax.

Thank you for choosing HSN. We value your business and appreciate your
understanding.

Sincerely,

Ann
hsn.com Customer Service

Unfortunately I cannot find any info on this yet because PC says it is still forthcoming in a few days. How wonderful that it will all be after the fact.

http://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/HallOfShame/CraftSites/Cricut/Cricut.shtml

The Angel Policy was taken down off PC's website for the Cricut Cake earlier this afternoon.

I just wanted to let you know that cut n crop sent me an email saying that as far as they know that May 1 delivery date is still good. But, they would do some more investigating, because I told them about HSN selling more machines then they had to offer.

Forewarning!!! My Cricut Cake arrived yesterday. When I ordered it Sunday night, HSN said I would receive it next week probably around th 21st. I just received an email yesterday that it had been shipped and to expect it in 7-14 days. The way my house is set up, I use the back door and don't check the front porch for packages until I expect them. This morning, when I got my paper, there was the package!! Thank goodness it didn't rain last night.

I am a hobby cake artist, so I am not concerned about PC's thoughtless licensing issues. I have a cake in June that requires lots and lots of edible flower petals!! This will definitely be faster and easier that cutting each one individually. And, I don't think they can copyright a flower petal!!

I AM SOOOO EXCITED! I just tracked my cricut and its out for delivery. I called my DH and told him that he can NOT leave the house until my Cricut Cake is delivered. I cant wait to get home.

From the cricut message board. I saved these as I've noticed some posts that ask the "wrong" question about whats going on seem to get deleted pretty quick.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does anyone have an active link to PC's Angel Policy? I was on their website, clicked on the site map, then, Angel Policy, but there's no info there. Any ****istance greatly appreciated....



I'm not sure what happened to their policy... it appears to be missing from their site now. Here is a page that has the link to it... but, the link does not take you to the angel policy.

http://www.provocraft.com/help/sitemap.php

Here is a link to a site that has the angel policy posted...

http://paper-and-ink.blogspot.com/2007/04/angel-policies-of-various-companies.html

I emailed them quite some time ago about their angel policy as it is not posted on the Cricut site and/or in the Cricut book. Here is their actual email response.

Hello,

Thank you for your email.

It is correct that your can not sell any craft items using our products on the Internet or any type of mass production type of selling situation. You can make items and sell items on a small scale, no more than 50 to 100 per month. They can be sold at bazaar or craft fair type of businesses.

We sell our machines and products for individual personal use so we are not required to list that anywhere on the packaging or the website.
Thank you,

Customer Service

__________________________

Does anyone know if we're able to sell items that we use Cricut cartridge designs on.

Thanks,
*****



Provo Craft Angel Policy

Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc. (Provo Craft) is thrilled that individuals desire to create and sell personal craftwork (i.e., craftwork personally created by an individual for sale or distribution by that individual and not for the sale or distribution of any other person or entity) incorporating our products, designs and images. In the interest of the creative community and their desires to share their creativity with others, we have granted permission in the form of a limited license to use any of Provo Crafts designs, images and other products sold by Provo Craft that are protected under U.S. and/or international copyright laws (hereinafter referred to collectively as the copyrighted material) for the purpose of creating craftworks for sale in limited quantities in a limited local geographical location. The rights granted by Provo Craft hereunder provide consideration for the terms and conditions set forth herein and the. As such, any individual using the copyrighted material pursuant to this license hereby expressly agrees to the terms and conditions set forth herein.

1. All Provo Craft products that incorporate, provide or utilize copyrighted material are copyrighted by Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc. and are protected under United States and international copyright laws, which means that they cannot be copied without the written permission of Provo Craft.

2. Any craftwork to be sold must not incorporate third-party copyrighted material. The craftwork must contain only Provo Craft products that are sold under the Provo Craft trademark.

3. The individual may sell or distribute personal craftwork at local community fundraisers, seasonal boutiques or bazaars, or other temporary craft events. Personal craftwork incorporating Provo Craft copyrighted material cannot be sold at a fixed retail location such as a store or mall kiosk, left in a store on consignment, or sold to other parties for subsequent resale, or sold via the Internet.

4. The use of the copyrighted material to be sold with a product, to enhance a product or to design a product on a regional or national level or for any mass production is expressly prohibited hereunder and requires a written licensing agreement with Provo Craft. (The definition of mass produced is more than fifty copies reproduced within a thirty day period of any one design or more than 200 copies per year of any one design. Multi-person ****embly-line work counts as mass production.)

5. Quantities for sale of personal craftwork shall be limited by the production limits set forth herein.

6. The limited license granted herein is not a license of the Provo Craft name or any trademarks, trade names, trade dress or logos of Provo Craft and cannot be used without the express written permission of Provo Craft. In addition, the Provo Craft name or any trademarks, trade names, trade dress or logos of Provo Craft may not be used at any location where personal craftwork items are sold, nor may they be used in any manner to solicit sales of such items nor in a manner that states, infers, or implies an affiliation with Provo Craft.

7. You may not use Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc. copyrighted material for the purpose of creating logos, trademarks, trade names, trade dress or trademarks (e.g., company trademarks, product trademarks, product packaging, etc.).

8. Wherever possible, each item using or incorporating Provo Crafts copyrighted material must be marked with Includes Copyrighted Material of Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc. in a reasonable size and location that gives reasonable notice.

9. Copyrighted material of Provo Craft may not be altered in any manner, including but not limited to, masking or overlaying portions in the overall design. Any other alteration will be considered an infringement of copyright. In addition, Provo Craft expressly reserves all moral rights in any copyrighted material.

10. Provo Craft shall, without limitation, have the right to terminate the limited license granted hereunder for any reason whatsoever. In the event that Provo Craft elects to terminate this license for any individual, Provo Craft shall notify such individual in writing of such termination. Upon notice such individual shall immediately terminate the copying, sale and/or distribution of any of Provo Crafts copyrighted material or products or things that incorporate any of Provo Crafts copyrighted material.

11. Persons creating personal craftwork items for sale are responsible for complying with any state and local business and tax regulations or any other laws or regulations governing the sale of goods.

12. Persons subject to this license ****ume all liability for suitability of their work and for any CLAIM OR cause of action arising as a result of the sale, offer for sale and/or distribution of their work and agree to indemnify and hold harmless Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc. and its artists from disputes arising from the sale, offering for sale and/or distribution of their work.

13. Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc. is a Utah corporation. The laws of the State of Utah govern this licence. The state and federal courts of Utah will have exclusive jurisdiction over any proceeding arising from this policy. Any person that operates under this limited license expressly agrees to be subject to personal jurisdiction in the courts of the State of Utah. Any failure by Provo Craft to enforce any of its rights will not constitute a waiver of such rights.

For more information about our using our products designs or images, contact Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc. Marketing, at 1-800-937-7686.
Effective Date: May 25, 2005
Provo Craft reserves the right to amend or change this policy at any time.


_____________________________

Admin*****

"You can make items and sell items on a small scale, no more than 50 to 100 per month. They can be sold at bazaar or craft fair type of businesses."

Well, there you are then. How many of us will be selling more than 100 cakes per month?

I agree with DebbyJG. And If you read to "angel policy" it says mass use of the same design. Now when it comes down to it my guess would be if you used cricut images on every cake, even different images they would prob come after you for it, but I can tell you as a paralegal this would more then likely blow over because of the statment they made in there angel policy. Now lets all watch and see how long it is before they up date this policy to say that you can not sell anything with there images without the license.

And if they do that, I'm going to come back with "Let's see you try to win this one. Do you hold the patent on the heart shape? What about the square?"

Yea I am still lost on that one, some of there shapes are just shapes I mean I dont know how eles to put it. Should we tell the kids to stop drawing smiley faces and heart before they get sued? Come on People where are we going to draw the line.

Just got off the phone with provo. Here is the link.

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-676596.html

^ Scream loud enough and people will listen.

Thanks for the update Jennifer!

You can find stencil material at Hobby Lobby. I don't remember what section.

it started with a picture of stationary. from that I used Photoshop to make a line drawing and add bridges. Then I used SCAL and Cricut to cut it out. This is on stencil plastic ... the label on the plastic says "PLAID Simply Stencils".

I found this one the Provo Craft website. We are allowed to sell up to 10,000 finished cakes per year using their designs. What you can't sell are individually cut out shapes i.e. cut out the entire alphabet to sell as pieces at a store.

New Update about Provo Crafts Angel Policy

April 23rd, 2010
We've gotten some great feedback on the Angel Policy revision we made last week as it pertains to Cake. It's such great feedback, in fact, that wed like to do something similar for paper crafters and mixed media artists. Moving forward, we're going to combine cake and other mediums so there's just one Angel Policy for everyone. And at the same time, wed like to provide a bit more clarity to that policy. This will be the official policy going forward, and while there could be additional adjustments or clarifications from time to time, we dont anticipate any significant changes in the near future.

This new Angel Policy still does not authorize you to produce and sell individual, unassembled cuts using Cricut products (i.e., mass producing individually-cut letters or shapes to re-sell). It does, however, authorize you to sell up to 10,000 completed projects annually (i.e., cards, scrapbook pages, finished cakes), using cuts made with Cricut products. This revision offers the most flexibility possible to those who wish to create and sell projects made using any of the Provo Craft products, while also protecting the creative ideas and images of the independent artists with whom we work to produce art for our cartridges.

Weve tried to make this new policy as simple and clear as possible. We hope youll be really happy with what it allows you to do. But if theres any part of this policy that youre still unclear or unhappy about, please call our customer service department at 1-800-937-7686 and well answer your questions. We also recognize that limiting the sale of completed projects to 10,000 differs from what we shared last week specifically with respect to the use of Cricut Cake. So if you bought Cricut Cake this week and find this revision no longer meets your needs, you can contact Customer Service by April 30, 2010 for a refund.


I feel much better about having ordered one!