I’ve been learning some things about cakes but not about techniques. I’ve been learning about copyright infringement. Some say “It’s only a cake!” But is it really? If you had invested time and resources into developing and marketing a product would you want everyone and their uncle copying YOUR work and taking credit for it? When you put it that way it really isn’t “just a cake.”
Now, I’m no expert on copyright law but this is what I’ve picked up over the last few weeks. We’ll use
Sponge Bob as an example. I can create a water theme cake, with seaweed, jelly fish, seashells and the like without having any issue. But as soon as I create a fondant (or any other material for that matter) figure of Sponge Bob I have then violated copyright laws. The solution to that is purchasing licensed toys to place on the cake. This way I have purchased an authentic, legal version of the copyright holder’s item. Using licensed characters avoids the issue all together. Copyright violations can come with severe penalties – lawsuits and judgements in the thousands of dollars.
Now, did you know sports teams are also covered under copyright laws? I’ve been told by other cake decorators that it is easy to get permission from colleges to copy their logos, etc. You just need to call and ask for written permission. This can be a one time thing or a blanket permission. I don’t know how easy it is to get a professional team’s permission. They may hold theirs a little tighter than the colleges.
I guess you know what I’ll be doing the next in the coming weeks. Yep, getting permission from UNC, WFU, NCSU and UT.
Keepin’ it Sweet!
Deah
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