Umm Seriously? lol Best Reply Ever!

I think what they meant to write is, we dont want to make that cake but thanks for contacting us....itd be an easier thing to say

Don't work in copyright/trademark practice, but I did some research and found this:

http://www.cakeboss.com/Cake-Stuff/Articles/Copyrighted-Cakes

Ah - the selective application of copyright/trademark laws. I can't believe businesses would turn down customers. Mind boggling.

Kristin, unfortunately if the baker makes the cake, it opens them up to a lawsuit for copyright and trademark infringement which could end their business.

Im all about protecting copyrights but its a friggin cake, and how many bakeries are there out there who make cartoon character etc cakes every day. seriously, i could see how a baker who has a tv show would be worried about being sued, but some small time bakery making a puzzle box cake shouldnt be all super worried about the cake police driving into my wedding

Kit clive barkers dying, i dont think he'd sue over a hellraiser cake

Uber Dami, Clive Barker owns the rights to Hellraiser. However, the puzzle boxes were created by Philip Lemarchand and he and his family own the rights to the puzzle box.

I know when we would get character cakes for our birthdays, we had to order a purple dinosaur cake (Barney) or an ice princess cake (frozen). I feel like there are ways around it if they really wanted to.

I got that too a few times for FH's Batman, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones cake. Really annoying. I think that may be a go-to line when they don't want to do because I looked at her website and she had a lot of Disney, college sports team, and professional sports cakes.

Jackie, those characters images have been released and therefore a cake pan can be created. I don't know how you obtain permission to create the pan, but I am sure it can be done.

The photo i sent the baker who will remain nameless was not of the identical puzzle box, it was an artists rendition with more detail to make it fancier for a wedding. and the artist who came up with the fancier version was fh and i told her that so i have rights to the design

Plus this bakers portfolio had a ton of cakes made in the game of thrones, disney etc style....so im thinking they just didnt want to do it

Hi KitandKaboodle - I understand the legal risk and the point of the article, but to Uber Dami's point there does seem to be a slight inconsistency in application. Perhaps, because Cake Boss is recognizable, they choose to be more conservative. But I cannot imagine, every bakery solicits approval for each cake produced for every copyrighted character. I am going to stop before an attorney recognizes the low hanging fruit and starts targeting small bakers for copyright infringement! :-)

Kristin thats what im saying, i highly doubt every bakery gets permission for their commissioned cakes, i see so many themed cakes and i know all those cakes werent asked for permission

I think Jackie had a good idea - what about requesting a generic named version of the cake, since you are basing it off of your FH's rendering? I am not familiar with Hellraiser but I am sure you could find some creative terminology to frame your request

The Cake Boss article is not THE Cake Boss-- its a completely different company that makes software for bakers.

I think either they just don't want to make this cake, or they don't think they can, especially if it is super detailed.

Kristin/Uber Dami, I totally understand your side. However, as an attorney, I also see the side of the baker. Although I do not work in the area of law of patent copyright/trademark, unless the owner of the original artwork releases their art, any version even similar in nature is an infringement. The law is not to keep people from using artwork. It's to protect the artist and his/her interests.

Kit i totally get an artist protecting their interests, but i also dont get how someone can bake cakes that art batman, video game related, disney etc and then say they are worried about copyright infringement when it comes to my request

Hi KitandKaboodle - thank you for providing perspective. I agree that people need to be able to protect their assets and a copyright is the artist's asset. But, it is frustrating that it is not equally complied with or enforced. *sigh*

Out of curiosity - how to costume manufacturers or bakers get by with selling a very close replica of a purple dinosaur (Barney) or ice princess (Frozen) without infringing on the rights of the artist? I find this topic genuinely interesting.

I love the idea of your cake and I'm a huge Hellraiser fan! Back in 1993 my then 16 year old uncle was left alone to babysit three year old me. What did we watch? Hellraiser and Gremlins lol! Since then I have had a strange, unhealthy obsession with horror movies...Yet Fantasia freaked me the hell out and I still won't watch it to this day!

Anyway....If we weren't date twins I would have replicated the cake for you, I can offer a fake cake for display.