There are TONS of posts on CC regarding this topic. Do a search on here for "copyright" and you'll probably find enough information to make your head swim.
I'm not taking about chacter cake I just say it for any cake.
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There are TONS of posts on CC regarding this topic. Do a search on here for "copyright" and you'll probably find enough information to make your head swim.
I'm not taking about chacter cake I just say it for any cake.
Ooohhh, my bad, I see what you're saying now. I thought you were still referring to the copyright issue, and the whole thing about just take money for supplies and accept a tip has been something lots of people have tried suggesting for getting around copyright stuff. Unfortunately, that doesn't work for avoiding licensing crap. ... I don't think it would jive with most health departments either.
OK so explain to me why you just can't say when you sell a cake that the person was paying for the materials and also was giving you a monitary 'gift' for the for your efforts on the cake. Since they are not able to make the cake themselves.
You are trying to SKIRT the copywrite law and they are very specific. As long as it's recognizable you CANNOT DO IT!!!
you can do it for friends and family...thats it.
There have been MANY, MANY theads addressing this PARTICULAR question.
Time for you to do a bit of CC searching to get your answers.
There was a day care down here that could be seen from US1. Now they NO WHERE used the name MICKEY MOUSE..but they had a very visible mural with the Disney Characters in the playground and it could be seen from US1...it lasted about 3 years.....
One day...it was gone...they were fined and had to paint over the mural. So...people get comfortable...RIPPING OFF BIG CORPORATIONS...( it's the same as STEALING! and WE ALL DO IT!)
Downloading art work to use for edible images..using coloring books for chocolate and frozen buttercream transfers...edible images of BRATZ and stars....
WE ALL DO IT.......
and ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law...BUT WE ALL DO IT....
Do I think the CAKE MAFIA is going to come busting in my door? Dog Chapman and his busty side kick going to take me to jail? Going to burn in everlasting damnation? I don't think so.
Do I try to be cautious? Yes...do I look for ROYALTY FREE IMAGES? YES..before I use anything I look for FREE, or ROYALTY FREE IMAGES... Do I go out of my way to break the law? I try not to...some days...I manage better than others..lol
YOU do what you are comfortable doing. What your inner voice tell you. I try to steer my clients away from copy write material.
If you look at my photos..there was a woman that wanted a TINKERBELL cake...I told her I couldn't do it..but that I was happy to make her a cake that would look like a fairly land if she got the doll and put the doll on the cake at home!
She complied...I did the cake...she was happy.
whew..long ..huh? lol
Do I agree with the copy write laws? Dunno...I cannot bitchnmoan when someone uses some original art or concept of mine. ( not that I have any) and then bitchnmoan because I cannot not use someone elses when I need it.
Think about this! If we take so much pride in our work that we sell it and people want to buy it. We want repeat customers and good word of mouth and we cook for our families out of the same kitchens. Wouldn't we want to sell good clean safe cakes. Mayby the Board of Health should be looking into more of the restaurants people eat at.
The problem with this is everyone's idea of acceptably clean for our families is different. When I worked outside the home, a woman that I worked with never washed her hands after using the bathroom. I wasn't the only one that noticed it and I wasn't the only one that wouldn't eat the treats she would bring in to share.
My husband works with a woman who lets her cat on the kitchen counter while she is cooking and lets the cat lick the spoon and she continues to use the spoon! 
The stuff she brings in to work to share always has cat hair in it.
why would you let a pet lick off of the spoon??? YUCK!!!!
This will not compare to the McDonald's story, but this happened ysterday.
Ok,
we had dinner today at church. No big deal. I made PB&J sandwiches for the kids. I was also making brownie cups. My husband had to go to the church yesterday to help get everything set-up. One of the ladies was making brownies. No problem for me. More chocolate. He proceeds to tell me this lady used a mix to make 5 doz. Yeah. he then tells me " honey, she had batter up to her elbow." She has really long nails. 
I thought I would loose my cookies. I told my children, what not to eat. I know I should be embarrassed. So not.!!!
Gosh...we have to pass inspection EVERY Day for the past 2 years. They would NOT let us in the cooking labs with long nails, unkept hair..dirty or wrinkled uniforms!
They even told us what kind of socks to wear! ugh..but...now I understand more than I ever did.
I used to work for a women that had long nails too and was always tearing her fondant..duh!
Then my cousin had those STRIPPER nails..and I was so grossed out...all kinds of nasty toughts in my head..needless to say that I never ate at her house..lol
I agree with the hair net thing & all the over protective stuff. I cover my hair, wear food service gloves. I'm the " Kitchen General". That;s what some people call. I smile & say very sweetly " I might be. There is one thing I can say. I've not had anyone return something because of a hair or tell me they got sick." Then I usually walk away & leave them to pick up their jaw.
Please don't chastize me for this, but I do not think animals are bad. I have dogs. They do not walk on counters. I have made countless meals at home and not one person has ever gotten sick. Yet you cannot have a licenced in home "bakery" if you have animals. How many people have a pet across the world, cook, and no one gets sick???? I went to Mexico and saw meat sitting out, not covered, no refrigeration, flies all over it, yet people were eating from it. My husband and his friend did. All over the world are open markets, food sitting out and people eat it. This is the kind of stuff that goes through my mind when I hear about licencing and health stuff. I know proper food handling and all that and follow it. But my dogs!!!?? If I do cakes for more than just my family, I will rent a bakery.
wow, i don't get it, why can't you have long nails? i do and the only problem i see with it is sometimes i catch the frosting and mess it up with my nails! also with the dogs... we have 3... i don't allow them on the counters (they wouldn't be able to get up there anyways) but once in awhile, yes, i will find a dog hair while i'm decorating... i just warn people, hey, i have dogs... it won't kill you... we used to joke at work about it because there was another lady there that made food to bring to work and she had dogs... she said if you find a dog hair, tough... i have dogs... haha... dogs aren't the messiest animal if you ask me... if you have birds flying around in the house (which i know some people that do) that might be more of a hazzard... 
I see nothing wrong with longer nails either. I used to work in a restaurant and the health inspectors had no problem with the nail length as long as they were clean. Food gets caught under short nails too. Nail polish is a different story because it can flake off into the food, so I won't wear polish. I think being clean is the big thing here.
I also agree that animals are not walking diseases. I hate hair of any kind in food, but I love my pooch. My dog knows that he is not allowed in the kitchen at any time. If I am doing a cake for a customer the baby gate goes up just as a precaution. If I am cooking for my family he just sits patiently at the doorway. I don't think I am being mean to my puppy with this rule. My kids aren't allowed in the kitchen if I'm doing a paid cake either. It's just a way for me to ensure that if there is an accident, it's my fault and I have no one else to blame.
I don't get as grossed out about things as some people do. But I think if you are baking for a paying customer, you have to take into account what they would think and if they are going to be grossed out by something, you need to accomodate them or risk losing the sale as well as this person doing some bad mouthing. I figure it's better to be safe than put out of business.
Ok, I didn't want to get graphic with the long nails, but..it's harder to CLEAN the stuff that gets caught under your nails..even when you wash your hands. Here in Florida...we must have a small nail scrub brush available by the hand sink, along with sanitizer...
That we must use AFTER GOING TO THE BATHROOM...
lol.....get it now?
at school we were not allowed to have nails that could be seen from the other side, when you turned your hand..and guys that couldn't be clean shaven because of ingrown hairs on their face..had to wear beard guards.
They looked like Santa Clause. lol
Well, I know that some of you may be saying, Well...that's a bit over the top and my doggie is a good doggie and blah blah blah..
Well..
I have a cat...and he is a good cat...doesn't climb on anything...except his very own plastic chair...but I would no more bake out of my home for a client than I would get rid of him
That is MY choice...just as it would be my choice....to NEVER eat anything anyone would cook for me...after finding a hair....ANY hair in the food!
That is just a personal preference!! Just the same as I would not go to a hole in the wall restaurant to eat.
There are a lot of things that bother me about eating out..lol...I keep them to myself...and I always excersice my option to eighter WALK OUT>...or to say, Thanks, but no thanks to someone's offer to feed me
It had gotten to the point that I rarely eat out, unless it's something I can't make at home...or we are going to have a couple of drinks...lol
Alcohol will kill anything...including brains cells...so, then...I don't care! lol
risquebusiness,
Glad to hear someone agrees with me. I wouldn't care if fingernails were long enough to scratch your bottom without reaching behind you as long as you are wearing gloves. I have worked in a hospital & my neice had cellulitis & almost died.. I do worry about germs. I have come to accept that people have different standards of clean. Mine are extremly high.
No, it's because I never sell anything. Everything I make I give. At least they can't complain.
California is one of those states who are very
"anti home business"..
dl5crew
I know that sometimes we find ourselves believing that we are the only ones that are fighting that good fight! lol
It's not only about standards, but common sense..today..I'm not feeling well, I have a bit of a head cold..and I have a cake due tomorrow. Ok, so I need to bake it today....
Here I am...hiding behind my CLOSED sign. I will NOT attend customers while my nose and eyes are red! I could say it's allergies..lol
I'm in my full apron, gloves and nose and mouth mask.
I KNOW that once I bake my cakes whatever little hitch hiker it picked up will die..but I"m not going to take that chance.
I even have a bottle of sanitizer by the 3 compartment sink..along with the dish sanitizer. I have the hot water running over the dirty dishes, full stream....water shortage be dammed! lol
I don't care if it was a cake I was giving away...if it was, I would be more than happy to tell my friend...I'm not feeling well, so I will give you a raincheck. Unfortunately..I cant do that with a customer.
I have my Extra C and a back up baker and decorator if this turns into a full blown cold!
Call me fussy, call me paranoid..call me whatever you want..
But...you can't call me dirty....
Messy..well...My little office area is full of papers that I need to sort through..but I KNOW where they all are..lol
( Still working on that dammed project..due next week! lol )
But that even bothers me as even though I'm behind some counters, it's still in the main area of the shop..ugh!!
The license issue here is that you can't advertise or give out cards without a license. If I find a stack of business cards and I don't think they have a license, I give it to my inspector to check out. Why should I have to pay the fees and jump through the hoops if everyone doesn't?? I baked at home for years but I NEVER advertised.
The animal issue.... there are LOTS of people in this world that are not as clean as you. That's why they check. Have you seen all the posts on here about animals licking/eating/touching cakes? I mean- cats walk around in a litter box full of Poop! Then people let them crawl around on the counter tops. Y_U_C_K!
The license issue here is that you can't advertise or give out cards without a license. If I find a stack of business cards and I don't think they have a license, I give it to my inspector to check out. Why should I have to pay the fees and jump through the hoops if everyone doesn't?? I baked at home for years but I NEVER advertised.
The animal issue.... there are LOTS of people in this world that are not as clean as you. That's why they check. Have you seen all the posts on here about animals licking/eating/touching cakes? I mean- cats walk around in a litter box full of Poop! Then people let them crawl around on the counter tops. Y_U_C_K!
Jenn123, I agree with you 100% NOTHING burns my shorts that someone not having a lic. baking out of their homes...I just don't have it in me to turn them in..! sigh. But You are right..it burns my bottom to no end to know that I did my research and it took me 5 months to get my place...and doing my business plan, demographic studies and all the hoops and tricks that I had to perform for the past year to get my little place!
to have someone breeze by with an unlicenced ...and pretty dammed UGLY cake....undercutting me!
last week, I didnt' check my voice mail and I had 2 calls for orders..when I called back, they told me they went elsewhere..I didn't even bother to ask...
then a few days later..one of them calls me back and places the order! Still didn't ask what happened..lol
None of my business!
But..let me tell you....sometimes when I post answers to questions posted by people that I KNOW are not lic in a state that requires it, I feel like I"m aiding and abetting a criminal....Tee hee!
O.k. since I took my ServeSafe class last week and can FINALLY get certified as a Food Manager here in MN...
Here's the reasoning on the fingernails... It's an FDA recommendation to start with, but the reason is... Because nail polish chips off and can become a physical contaminant in the food. The same goes for chunks of fingernail... It also comes in there with bare hand contact of food. YUUUMMMM YUMMMMM... I just want to go to the teenage kitchen kids sometime and when they're whining about no fingernail polish or nail extensions to say "Look at the hands of the person next to you, now imagine chewing THEIR nails, GROSS! right, well, that's why no fingernail polish or bare-hand contact...
They changed the recommendation in the ServeSafe course on using the fingernail brushes to wash your hands because unless they're a one-time-use brush, they've FINALLY realized that they're not nearly as sanitary as just washing your hands without one because they become the community germ. Just something to think about..
Thought I'd weigh in with my two cents. I also have my ServSafe certification, though I do not have a licensed kitchen. I'm a nut about a clean kitchen, but when I took the course I realized the difference between keeping your own kichen clean and meeting HD regulations. BIG difference. There are regulations on everything...how long something can set out (even your eggs), where food must be stored in the fridge (what shelf), how long you must let food cool down before storing it or reheating it. Believe me, if you THINK you run a clean kitchen, pick up one of the ServeSafe textbooks and you're in for a surprise.
As for pets, I would walk out of a restaurant if I saw that there were pets on the premises. That's just me. I would eat at a McDonald's that kept dogs in or around the kitchen, and definitely not cats. Personal preference. Fur flies, you can't help that, no matter how clean you are, and I can't see how anyone could be non-chalant about serving someone something with fur in it. I freak if I think MY hair wound up in something I serve. Maybe no one in our families has gotten sick. That's no reason to disregard the fact that someone else could. People have allergies, for instance. That's why states are so hard on home kitchens. It would be so hard to regulate them from a safety standpoint. Heck it's hard enough to regulate commercial places. Clean one day, failing the next. And if we're going to be allowed to have licenses at home then we have to play by the same rules as the big boys. That means no pets, ServSafe certification and constant monitoring.
Just my two cents. Now I'll get off my soap box.
Mickig 
Thought I'd weigh in with my two cents. I also have my ServSafe certification, though I do not have a licensed kitchen. I'm a nut about a clean kitchen, but when I took the course I realized the difference between keeping your own kichen clean and meeting HD regulations. BIG difference. There are regulations on everything...how long something can set out (even your eggs), where food must be stored in the fridge (what shelf), how long you must let food cool down before storing it or reheating it. Believe me, if you THINK you run a clean kitchen, pick up one of the ServeSafe textbooks and you're in for a surprise.
As for pets, I would walk out of a restaurant if I saw that there were pets on the premises. That's just me. I would eat at a McDonald's that kept dogs in or around the kitchen, and definitely not cats. Personal preference. Fur flies, you can't help that, no matter how clean you are, and I can't see how anyone could be non-chalant about serving someone something with fur in it. I freak if I think MY hair wound up in something I serve. Maybe no one in our families has gotten sick. That's no reason to disregard the fact that someone else could. People have allergies, for instance. That's why states are so hard on home kitchens. It would be so hard to regulate them from a safety standpoint. Heck it's hard enough to regulate commercial places. Clean one day, failing the next. And if we're going to be allowed to have licenses at home then we have to play by the same rules as the big boys. That means no pets, ServSafe certification and constant monitoring.
Just my two cents. Now I'll get off my soap box.
Mickig
I feel that we are drawing the line in the sand. ONE side the home, unlic bakers and the other the ones that have gone the course and have their lic.
I'm sorry if anyone that is a non lic home baker get's their nose out of joint, but the facts are the facts.
I don't care that you think someone has a dirty commercial kitchen..ONE phone call will take care of them and if they don't comply they get closed down! PERIOD
The rules and regulations are THERE FOR A REASON...I DO NOT CARE that no one in your house has gotten sick or that you keep your pets in another STATE even....THE RULES ARE THE RULES...
what kills me is that a lot of these same people that are blatantly breaking the rules, could get fines up the ying yang...are the very same little ole church going Christian ladies! lol ( some, not all!! lol)
The very same SAHM that would be mortified if little JR walked out of the shops without paying for their candy or comic books...GET MY DRIFT???
So, I don't want to hear how clean your kitchen is...that you shaved your pet angora...and you tie up your little ones while you bake and decorate.
YOU ARE STILL BREAKING THE LAW! Ignorace of the law, is no excuse to break the laws...
But, then again...no one is perfect, and I too was a SAHM baking my goodies when I first started....but as I became more and more AWARE of things, I incorporated the things I learned.
and knowing what I know NOW, I would NEVER bake at home any item for sale, or for someone including family members...UNLESS it was for my IMMEDIATE FAMILY.
I have a pretty gross story for you..so you can stop reading RIGHT NOW, but these are the facts...
a long time ago when farmers still had OUTHOUSES, they used to fertilize their veggie patches with something called NIGHT SOIL. That is the soil in and around the outhouse...YES, very rich in NITRATES! lol ...ewwwwwwww
The household could very happily eat any and all things grown in thier little veggie patch because WHATEVER little germie thing that was present in the soil, that fertilized the veggie that you eventually ate and digested...came from you and your family ALREADY.
We are talking about things that we don't cook...because once you apply heat to something, it pretty much becomes OK to eat..( heat at a certain degree and temp.lol)
so, Uncle JR, could go home from a family reunion not feeling so hot after eating the lettuce at your house, but be fine eatting the lettuce at HIS house!!!
So, just because no one in your family has gotten sick from something you make in your (general YOU..not a personal YOU) house, consider yourself VERY lucky....or...just immune! 
I know, disgusting...but it's just a story....or is it???? 
I am operating under cottage foods here in Ohio, but I'm still a fanatic about keeping my kitchen clean. The only pets we have are fish and hermit crabs. We gave our cat to grandma so I could do this from home (she was a mean cat anyway, lol). If I were ordering from a home baker, I would ask them if them had pets or anyone in their household smoked inside. I get grossed out ver yeasily. My son is 4 and has asthma, and I can smell cigarettes on anything. I've been to parties where the cake box smelled like smoke! Not in this house! EVERYTHING in my kitchen gets cloroxed before I bake for an order, and I wash my hands a million times and wear my hair pulled back. My boys know not to come near it. I would die if I had a cat licking around, and dog jumping up flying hair around my kitchen, or worse..little mice unning around! I'm glad that states have the health regulations that they do have. If Ohio required me to bake somewhere else, I would! I also look at fingernails when I eat out. Who wants to decorate with long nails anyway...one little drop of coloring gets under them and it's about impossible to get it all out!
I know everyone is just going through the laws and regulations for everything... this definetely seems like the licensed are going after the unlicensed but some of us can't do anything about it. I would love to have my own business and my own seperate kichen from the house but for right now, that's impossible. I won't stop making cakes just because my dogs live in the house with me or because I don't have a stainless steel sink... I mean as long as I'm not advertising (which I don't)... I do sell cakes ocassionally but it's only to family or friends who I know would never turn me in... it's like making a cake for a get-together of some sort... my family has a lot of parties and everyone makes a dish... I just make cakes... they don't freak out if they find a little doggie hair in one, it's not like a clump (gross!) even with an allergy I'm sure they won't get sick from a hair... sorry if that totally grosses you out but I don't plan on baking with gloves, masks and a gown (like I'm doing surgery or something). If I ever DO get a chance to open a legit business I would take all the precautions and definetely wouldn't have the dogs around but for now, like I said, it's only friends and family. Another thing, this ServSafe book someone mentioned... where do you get ahold of one of them? Just curious to see how anal they really are about everything.
I agree about getting licensed. My husband is starting his own business. Not anything to do with food. Basically painting & cleaning stuff. OMG at what you have to go through. I have checked around & my state doesn't license a " home bakery". I have stopped doing cakes (for now). I recently did two for two different neices birthdays. I am in the process of taking to the "right" authorities to get permission to do this at my church kitchen. Where i can get it "legal". I haven't seen this much run around since 1997 when I had to call the IRS to tell them I was given too much on a tax refund. I do have a dog(for now). I put her upstairs and bleach everything, vacuum everything. I would puke myself if I saw a hair or anything else ina cake I had made. As it has already been said That's my opinion".
Besides, who's to say the government doesn't check this site to see who's legal or not. Yeah Yeah Yeah, I know what your going to say " The government should worry about more important things." If your working illegally & not paying taxes, that's tax evasion. Our tax dollars do pay our military who are protecting us.
RisqueBusiness wrote
I don't know if that's too true...do you know that after reading the thread about people having mice in their homes where they bake from....
If it were a bakery or restaurant...they would be closed to fast by the Health Department inspection until they took care of the vermin problem.
I KNOW for a fact that there are many places out there that don't meet the health code regulations..restaurants, bakeries..fast food services..but I do eat out easier knowing that the inspectors are ever vigilant.
SO, even though we bitch and moan about Health Department regulations, they are actually working for us...not against us!
As a retired nurse with community health experience I hate to tell you that even though there are inspectors out there doing their level best, eating out is still a crap shoot. There aren't enough inspectors to attend to all inspections in a timely fashion and at times this ends up biting the consumer in the butt. I think a lot of it depends on the community's budget of course. I remember one of our inspectors telling me that it was very common for business to have rodent and incect issues... it was the nature of the beast, especially in older buildings.
Ok, gotta throw in my 2 cents on the pet issue. I have pets and I make sure I vacuum my floor and put up the baby gate before I start baking/decorating. I also keep the kids out AND I change my shirt, too!
Just because a restaurant or bakery doesn't have animals on the premisses, doesn't mean those employees didn't hug or pet their animals on their way out the door. Basically, what I'm saying is if you have animals, it doesn't matter where you cook, animal hair is almost inevitable. Now, obviously there is more risk of hair if the animal is present, but I just wanted to throw that out there.
BY THE WAY, those of you wondering WHAT'S THE LIKELYHOOD OF BEING CAUGHT?...............Try having a neighbor that is on the County Licensing Board!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That sucks!!!!!!!!!! I plan on opening my own shop in 2 years (when my youngest child enters school). In the mean time, I'm mostly a hobby baker with a few friends that will pay me occasionally! I was going to try to sell from my home and risk it until I found out he was on the board. It put it in perspective that you really never know, someone could be just around the corner (literally, in my case). It's just not safe trying to make an "illegal" bakery from your home. Sure, people do it all the time, but you just never know.
also, that's why in a restaurant you must wear an apron, jacket or smock.
You are NOT supposed to walk out of a commercial kitchen with your aprons on.
It was a pain in the butt at school..we had to remove our aprons and hats ...sanitize our hands at the hand sink and then put them back on.
I HATED that stupid hat!
I first took the serve safe course when I was in restaurant management several years ago and boy were my eyes opened!!! I learned soooo much and became a germ fanatic after that. I mean IN MY HOME!! I should have had stock in latex gloves. But a funny story is one day I was preparing some chicken and my neighbor knocks on my door. She took a look at me in my apron and gloves and says "YOU USE SURGICAL GLOVES WHEN YOU COOK!???!" I felt a little bit embarrassed because her tone was like "how ridiculous" but you know what.. I know what lurks around the common household kitchen!
What I learned through safeserve and working in foodservice prepared me for my own bakeshop and when the dept. of agriculture came for my inspection, there was very little I had to correct! I was very grateful for the advice he gave me and his attitude wasn't " I'm out to get you!" It was more like ""I'm here to help you!."
-Rezzy
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