This is not criticism post, I’m trying to understand the situation in Makerworld.
I am new to 3D printing, our design / media company is based in Canada, we understand and follow copyright regulations as applied in Canada.
Our first 3D printer (A1) was bought to produce items for use within our projects. The 3D printing process appears to be working well for us.
Makerworld and similar sites are certainly an eye opener to me. I can see why people like having access to all the designs. There is some amazing stuff out there. But it looks like 3D print file sharing is the Wild West in many respects, certainly it look like there are stolen copies of files all over the place. Clearly some people are posting their files in multiple locations, but a lot of files seem to have been ripped off from others.
The other thing that surprises me is the use of so many copyright logos and brand designs. As an example, there are copyright logos everywhere.
If I included a copy of a Disney logo, a sports team logo or a car manufacturers brand logo in our work, we would expect to be dealing with a legal issue. As designers we copyright our work and expect to protect our copyright.
What am I missing with regard to makerworld and other similar websites?
If I want to pay for a commercial license for a file on makerworld, clearly I need to contact the person that uploaded the file. The question is, how can I know this person is actually the owner of the copyright or are they using stolen work?
The Exclusive program says it comes with support to fight this. The only problem is, it appears the designer has to do all the work.
I have found three different companies selling my models on Etsy this week that I have to resolve.
I let anyone print my work for their own use. If they wish to sell it, I have a Patreon account for a commercial licence. I didn’t want to do this; I prefer not to let others make money from my work for a token amount of money each month, but at least those people are honest. My objective is to make it easy to do it legally, people still steal.
There are fair use exceptions and no money is earned from the artwork.
You would be gaining revenue from the work, that is an entirely different legal situation.
Yes, it is a mess. Both models stolen from the original designer as the use of brands and IP from other companies.
The first one is the one that is closest to me because I have a lot of original designs that I upload to let others print and use for free. Some designs I allow remixes, others I keep the rights to myself. I do not grant commercial licenses but this is indeed possible. The issue is indeed, how can you know who is the original designer?
I recently found my roll up chess set on another website where somebody not only played it off as their own but they also had a much softer license on it (remixable). So if you download it from there in good faith and make a remix, you violate a license you didn’t know even existed. The same if somebody sells you a design to use commercially, even if he isn’t the original designer.
As designers we spend a lot of time defending our work and get models taken down from thieves, with variable success. I hope that in the future there can be some kind of database where a fingerprint from all models is stored and websites can easily check if an upload is the same (stolen) or partly the same (remix) as on other websites. As designers we need a way to link multiple accounts as well to prove we are the same uploader indeed.
But that is something I hope some bright minds will work on in the future, for now it’s the wild west, try to enjoy it!
Regarding IP and trademarks, most of the models are indeed ‘illegal’. I don’t know how many companies actually care but I do know that the word Lego is banned on MakerWorld because of legal issues. The same could become true for for instance Marvel, Disney and Nintendo if they really wanted to I believe. On most websites you can report models, on some you can select “IP infringement”.
The answer to legal questions is: do not ask randos on the interwebs, consult a lawyer that specializes in copyright law in the jurisdiction you reside as the laws aren’t universal and it all varies (and depends).
Regarding this: most stolen work is stolen from quite popular models. If you want to be as sure as you can be (and you would clearly like that), just do a quick search on google images for the object followed by “STL” and if it is indeed a popular model you most likely find different websites with the model of which one or more are the original designer. Just look at the dates and you can be pretty (not 100%) confident you are talking to the right person. Most thieves even copy the exact photos, title and description. It is a bit cumbersome but sadly there is no easy guarantee
I found a pretty understandable guide about fair use that may be helpful for those with certain questions. My take from it is things are fairly gray depending on circumstances and in legal challenges there are multiple considerations in deciding if something infringes or not. It doesn’t cover all circumstances (different audience) but does give an idea of the stuff that matters and is considered in a legal dispute. One thing they do say is entertainment isn’t a valid reason but the question of infringement takes in the whole picture to make a decision.
I understand fair use and that can be debated, but commercial use is 100% not fair use.
I guess it is not just Makerworld, lots of people think things are “free” to take and sell, even though they are someone else’s copyright.
We do have a lawyer for copyright and other issues. I wasn’t really asking for legal advice, just the opinions of those who have been here way longer than me.
I’m really just trying to do the correct thing here, if I want to purchase commercial use rights then clearly it’s pretty much impossible to know 100% who the owner is. Maybe commissioning work that is beyond my current skill level would be safer?
Isn’t this the same in all industries? If I license a photo from getty media, I’m simply believing them that they have secured all of the necessary rights, I don’t know 100%. Even if you commission someone to create something for you, do you actually know 100% that they didn’t steal some assets from someplace else?
How about adding a clause in the contract to have the designer attest that the design/file is their own original work, and if turns out to be otherwise, the designer solely bears the liablility, including but not limited to, legal fees, court fees, and monetary judgement.
This is key - I’m more free with what I will post here versus what I’d be willing to put on something to sell in my Etsy store, because that would be clearly profiting from the copyrighted images or characters.
But also worth pointing out, the entire internet is loaded with items featuring “block craft” “plumbers” “pocket monsters” “building blocks” etc. So many sellers consistently using these characters/logos, unless you’re making serious cash the copyright holder won’t waste time/money on litigation because there aren’t really damages.