smckinney - thank you for the information.  I will take all this new information and apply to my cakes. 

AExcuse me I think you should watch your mouth and act like an adult before you name call somebody. I have the right to make my opinion just like everyone else does. Yes I'm a newbie to the site and that's it so know what your talkin bout. Just cuz u sell cakes at ridiculous prices don't mean I'm going to. If your a professional act like it.

Ok just to check again.  If I bake a cake and add plastic licensed figures and give them away for free.  I am ok in doing so ? 

sixinarow- Thank you, I never did this for profit just a hobby but I wanted to make sure I do it right.

A

Not sure to whom you are addressing.

I went back to look at all the posts since yours, and I don't see anyone calling anyone else any names.

thanks for all the input the cake i displayed i did not make or sell someone asked if i could make and sell a cake like this one but i have no clue about pricing i have made and sold things for ppl before but am sure i undercharged i just don't know if my stuff is good enough and worry i am overcharging, i would like to eventually make this a business and i do have the selling license, 

Oh and I can either buy the ingredients or have the ingredients furnished as long as no money is exchanged and it's  legal ?

Also i have looked into the character law and you can put a toy on top if you purchase one such as from the store and them its not considered illegal.

she was talking about troll and just assumed it was about her....

ATo answer one of the questions, I contact the legal department of the owner of the copyright.

USC publishers on thier website contact information for a one time use permission. I've never been declined.

University of Clemson publishes terms of use and encourages replicas that fall within the guidelines.

The makers of Crown Royal generously awarded me permission a did CBS & Survivor.

I have replicated Disney mouse ears for my niece. There is no photo of it on my professional website, but it is in my gallery here.

I have also infringed upon the Dr. Seuss characters....many of them. It was for my sons first birthday. I did not seek permission. I did post it here on CC. It is my only cake that ever made the favorites list. It is also on my professional website. While I did no seek permission before making it, I did send a photo to the publicist for Mrs. Seuss as well as one to random house. I realize this is dancing the line. They neve responded with a yes. For this one cake, don't care. If I ever get a cease letter, ill remove it.

A

Wow, I assume that was directed towards me. Again, I will say my comments aren't meant to be hurtful or offensive. I'm not sure what 'name calling' you're referring to, you most certainly are entitled to your opinion as am I. I don't care if your new at this or old, I don't care if you sell your cakes or give then away for free. I don't charge ridiculous prices but I do this to make a living, I charge accordingly. I come here to learn and to hopefully give back, there's no judgement and I don't think I'm better then you or anyone else.

A

Yes, that's what we meant by backgrounds and adding a purchased toy or the deco packs like they put on grocery store cakes. Obviously, you can do whatever you want lol we just want you to be aware. I've sold character cakes or designer purses in the past before I realized it wasn't legal, I just chose not to anymore.

As for selling and being in business it depends on your state. The cake you posted in this forum is clean and nice, I wouldn't say it if I didn't think it was good ;)

I am doing a shoe and shoe box cake. I so bad wanted to use Manolo Blahnik's logo and even went so far as to print it out. But then my conscience wouldn't allow it. (plus my shoe is not worthy of the name! lol) So the customer's last name is Lamb so I made a logo with a shoe clipart and "Lamb Couture" It's really cute and I think it will be more special to her. My first cake I made was a Minnie Mouse for my granddaughter. And I did some practice Sesame Street cupcakes and cave them to the neighbors. I would love to capitalize on the character cakes. I am making some dummy cakes as a vendor for a children's event. Sophia the First, Jake and the Pirates, Tink, and Doc McStuffins. I am buying licensed toys for all. My profit margin may be lower but I will be legal.

ABatterUp: I love the Lamb Couture! Too cute, I saw the shoe as well looks good!

and i do really appreciate the feed back i had no clue till now about the character cakes. i am very new at selling my stuff i only started making cakes 2 yrs ago and that was just for my immediate family so i am clueless when it come to the business end that's why i joined here to see if i could get help.

Smickinney07, yeah youre correct. it was a friend of mine who lost her business over some copyright infrigement. ever since that Im paranoid, and i try to explain that to everybody so that it doesnt happen. 

Morgan did she even get a cease and desist letter? So scary that one mistake can ruin your world

AShe did. She took it out of her portfolio but accidentally left it on her website. After that they sued her. And rightfully so. She didnt take it seriously enough and she ended up paying for if a great deal

AI don't want to be the bearer of bad news but Lamb is a brand too, including shoes that go for almost as much as Manolos.

is the name of the company Lamb Couture? Is their logo 2 shoes back to back with shadows?

Just looked them up and they are L.A.M.B....don't worry me like that woman!!!

AWith regard to the big name bakers that do character cakes, I find it hard to believe that they don't know the law but then again I can't believe they'd all just ignore it either. It's very confusing.

A

I'm sure that as you won't be using their logo or anything, it will be fine. Just don't make a shoe that looks like one of theirs!

ACKPeaches-What state do you live in? I learned a lot from CC (I am still learning)! When I first started I mimicked the prices of other cake decorators in my area, pricing a bit lower because I wasn't as experienced it seemed logical at the time. Im not saying this to sound cocky but my work was just as good, if not better then most (very dated, old school pillars and character pan cakes are my main competition). I realized I needed to focus on my own work and what made me different, my competitive edge and customer base (Jason Kraftt's blog will be super helpful to you). I didn't realize that I wasnt charging for my time, I did more detailed work, I didn't realize I had overhead, I didn't price out my recipes, materials, etc. so I stepped back and did my pricing properly, luckily it didn't take me long to realize I wasn't charging accordingly. I wouldn't worry about overcharging, more often then not we make the mistake of undercharging. Once you figure that out and marketing (after you get legalized) you'll also want some sort of contract, insurance, I could go on and on. But in the meantime you can practice decorating on cake dummies to build your portfolio, recipes perfected, I don't know your skill level but you seem to have the basics down (icing a cake, covering with fondant, etc.). Everyone here is really helpful and we will give you honest, feedback if you ask for it.

Morgan-I thought that was your story! It is scary to think of something like that happening!

BatterUp & KiKi-It is super confusing! I've seen celebrity professionals teaching classes with cakes that include copyright characters, I don't understand that at all! I assume they get permission. It is so common and there are still decorators in my area that will make them so when a customer comes to me asking for something like that I explain that it's for both of our protection. I wonder sometimes if they think I'm lying or something lol.

A

WTF?

AI know right, so professional!

and acting "like an adult"?

A friend of a friend was contacted by the king of shoes Louboutin over  a shoe she had made - now she makes the shoes but doesn't put the logo in or she changes the spelling.