I have a client that has requested a Miami Heat birthday cake. I explained to her the licensing issues and told her that I could order an edible image of the logo for a sheet cake. She was ok with that, so I ordered the image. She called a week later and now does not want a sheet cake. Instead, she wants me to custom design a Miami Heat cake. I am stumped on how to design this cake in light of the licensing issue, particularly when the only images that I can find for this team are images for sheet cakes. Any ideas? TIA!

have you tried contacting the Miami Heat and asking for a one time licensing? Most sport teams (although i haven't dealt with any in the NBA) are fairly open to this. Just make sure you get it in writting. Some will allow you to use it for advertising, and others will request that you don't.

How big of a cake are you looking at doing? Is it still a sheet cake? is it a tiered cake? You can still do a basketball theme and use the team colors.

For the edible images you can purchase, you don't have to lay them flat on top of the cake. Put them on a thin layer of gumpaste and let it dry, then you can stand it upright to give it more dimension
I did something similiar with a graduation photo on this cake.
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1397559