Publix, Wal-mart: No Pacman Cake for You!

[brian23]

 

Tried to get a Pac-Man cake (like Markrvp's son) for my little cousin - but Publix and Wal-mart won't do it because of copyright !! I am going to try and do it myself, but it seems a little ridiculous. If they will do spiderman, superman, spongebob, etc why not Pacman?!

[SirPeale]

Because they've licensed those rights?

Pac-Man cakes are dead easy.  Two circle cakes, layered.  Don't smooth the icing on, use an applicator in little dots.

[RayB]

Just ask for a round yellow cake and cut the wedge out yourself

[ChadTower]

Go to a real bakery that doesn't care about copyrights.

[RayB]

yeah! Let's turn this into a Boycott Walmart thread!

[Q*Bert_OP]

yeah! Let's turn this into a Boycott Walmart thread!

Ok. - Walmart :

[brian23]

It's not the shape of the cake. I was going to try and make it like this (from markrvp's thread) :

[quarterback]

It's not just Wal-Mart trying to bust your balls, people don't want to get sued. 

http://www.crawfordsbakery.com/brochures/cakes.html

It is a violation of Federal Copyright Infringement Law for us to reproduce in any manner artwork that is original, a copy, or a likeness without written consent from the artist or photographer.  This includes copyrighted movies, TV, cartoons, art or photographs sold at retail, party goods (paper plates, napkins, greeting cards), and school emblems.  Crawfords Bakery & Deli, and you, the customer, could incur penalties of thousands of dollars for such copyright infringement.  Please help us comply with this law by not asking us to violate it.  Thank you!

http://www.sugarcraft.com/Copyrightlaws.htm

#3 Do not reproduce licensed images.You may only use products from suppliers who have contracts with licensing company.ALL LICENSORS HAVE ATTORNEYS LOOKING FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND THEY DO PROSECUTE. The companies often use people to set up bakeries. If a customer is desperate to have you recreate a certain image you could be in trouble.

http://www.webmall1.com/Sweetdreams/copyrules.htm

In reproducing copyrighted figures, it does not matter if the character is drawn by hand, added using an image projector, or put on a cake with a computer cake machine. If the item carries a

[pointdablame]

Regardless of coypright laws, and the cover-your-ass statements on websites, if you go to a small local bakery, they will make you a PacMan cake.  It's the easiest way to go about it IMO if you don't want to bake it yourself.

[brian23]

Looks like the only way to get around it is to make it myself or get someone to make it for free (fat chance!).

[arcadefever]

march 10 was my bd and that what my girl friend got me 

[markrvp]

Wal-mart made the Pacman cake for my son.  I designed what I wanted in Photoshop and printed it out and took it to the ladies there in the bakery. 

I'm a photographer, so I appreciatee copyright laws, but we're talking about a CAKE.  It will be consumed one time, never to be seen or heard from again.

The whole world has gone mad.

[quarterback]

I appreciatee copyright laws, but we're talking about a CAKE.  It will be consumed one time, never to be seen or heard from again.

True, but that particular cake is being purchased because it looks like a copyrighted character.   

In other words, the only reason any money is changing hands for that particular cake is because that particular cake looks like Bugs Bunny, or Daffy Duck or Pac Man.    The cake seller is only making that money because of somebody else's creation.   

If you sell copies of WindowsXP burned on a CD, you're only selling that CD because of somebody else's work.  If you sell photocopied pages of the new "Harry Potter" book, you're only selling those pages because of somebody else's work.   I can understand why somebody might want any of those things, including a cake, but that doesn't make the copyright law somehow crazy.  The money is exchanging hands because of somebody else's creation.

[RayB]

Quarterback, there's a difference between advertising that you will make cakes with copyrighted characters on it (by putting examples in your display case or in your catalog) and a customer making a special request. The customer would buy the cake regardless.

[quarterback]

The customer would buy the cake regardless.

Clearly that's not the case.  Brian went to two different stores where he did not "buy the cake regardless"

[Nannuu]

Being a diy guy, I prefer to make the cake.  Heck, even better is if you can put an MP3 player under the cake to play some Pac sounds.  That's what I'd do.  Or more likely I'd make it more complicated than that.  Either way, it's a fun project to do and easy as well.  It's impossible to mess up a box cake.

[jrj8541]

It's impossible to mess up a box cake.

Impossible you say.... 

[Nannuu]

Ha, I DO say!  Well, almost impossible.  If you can build an arcade cabinet you can surely bake a cake.