Ok, I've got the new Star Wars cookie cutters from Williams-Sonoma..
But, can I use them to make profit? Or can I only use them for personal use?
I don't know if you can because they are licensed characters, I'm pretty sure it's just like character pans. Sidenote...I really want them!
Just personal use. I would assume that it would be like using an Elmo cake pan to make a profit.
When baking for profit (does not just have to be a cake) you cannot even make the likeness of any copyrighted figure. So the copyright of a figure is not limited to shaped pans. You cannot even legally make a sheet cake and then draw a liscenced character on the cake.
No reason cookie cutters would be any different than a cake pan. Selling the cookies would mean you are profiting from someone else's creative work which would be a violation of the copyright on the figures.
Thanks
I have never done (except for my kids birthday) licensed characters.. And on my website, logo from companies have autorisation to be used as an example of my work.
But I was so excited when I saw those cutters. oh well, I'll keep them for my kids and husband! (I also bought the pancake molds! )
They sound fun.....enjoy using them for your family and friends.....
Oh yes, i will ! My husband is a BIG fan of Star Wars.. and now my (almost) 4 years old daughter is thrilled about it.. she already choose which pancake she will have ! hahaha!
No, you cannot. Therefore, I must confiscate them. I'll expect shipment by Monday.
Haha, good try
I have a question....I live in Canada and the bakeries at the grocery store sell those silly cakes with the toys on them from sesame street and all the princess and tinkerbell......I'm curious what the diffrence is. I know that when I had a bakery, we wouldn't replicate a cake with the original designers permission. Do these grocier stores get consent then to use those characters. I remember what a nightmare it was when a bride would come in with a pic from the martha stewart bride mag and say I want that exact cake. I use to almost have a heart attack.
I have a question....I live in Canada and the bakeries at the grocery store sell those silly cakes with the toys on them from sesame street and all the princess and tinkerbell......I'm curious what the diffrence is. .
Without knowing what these toys are exactly it would likely be some liscence with the copyright holder that enables them to make a profit by using their copyrighted material. For instance if you wanted to sell Disney princess cakes you would just need to submit a proposal to Disney to obtain a liscence authorizing you to use them.
the plastic toys that we see on cakes are perfectly fine to use, whether it's a grocery store, a bakery, etc. using them.
example, disney doesn't care if we BUY one of their characters to place on the cake (they make money). they just care if we make a gumpaste ariel, place her on a cake and sell it for profit. because in that case, they didn't make any money on their licensed character.
the sheet cakes that we see at large grocery stores buy specific "cake kits" with the characters included ready to go.
there are a few ways to get around the copyright issue:
write the company and request permission
buy the toy and put it on the cake
get creative
give away the cake for free (not gonna happen!)
No, you cannot. Therefore, I must confiscate them. I'll expect shipment by Monday.
Haha, good try
Dang it! Melvira got to you first, didn't she? You're shipping them to her, aren't you? Darn it all!
there are a few ways to get around the copyright issue:
write the company and request permission
buy the toy and put it on the cake
get creative
give away the cake for free (not gonna happen!)
Actuallly, giving the cake away for free does not get someone around the copyright issue.
Copyrights do not just apply to anything sold or made for profit. They refer to any reproduction of a copyrighted image.
I do not do any cakes or cookies for sale (it's not legal in my county from a home kitchen), but I have contacted a few companies for permission to use their copyrighted images (after I knew I needed to that is) and have gotten permission for one use (for example, the Whitman's sampler in my photos). It is ofter difficult to get a hold of the correct person in the company - give yourself plenty of time if you do this!
DecoPac kits and/or edible images are the easiest way to do character items and still be able to charge for them.
Another option is to do something related to the character and have the customer bring a toy of the character to place on it. But I did this once and the toy that was brought to me wasn't a very good size (too big) and it just ended up looking weird.
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