Hello friends I am fairly new to the online 3d printing and modeling scene as a hobby (previously worked with both in an industrial sense) and have been enjoying my A1 and thought it would be fun to start selling them on the side to fund my filament addiction. But I wanted to ask because I came across a problem. I created some coasters for a friend who is big into weight lifting and thought I could print those and start selling them but came across an almost identical set of already existing models on makerworld (Olympic Weight Plate Coasters by VarthDader MakerWorld: Download Free 3D Models). I did not know this model existed when I created mine but since I made them based on the same set of real weights they are for all intense and purposes The exact same model. what does that look like as far as licenses are concerned? I know I can gift them to my friend which I still plan to do, but if I wanted to sell mine would I have to give credit to the other creator? Just a bit confused on how all that works.
well there is a thin line between right and wrong, but i would prefer to see how your model looks like then i can tell you if it can fall into violation.
But, there is a general rule, if i create a generic idea or design does not mean i own that generic idea of all sorts unless i submit a legal patent to protect the idea for certain period of time from people copying it.
an example of a soap bar holder, everyone having the same idea and concept but non are the same.
you could create your own design based on the idea, but it should not be a 100% the exact same in most aspects.
and for the design you created i dont think it will be much different than the original because the weights in general are all the same shape and size.
but i will wait for your photos to tell you if it can violate copyrights or not.
Is it really plagiarism though if you’re both just recreating a real world product as a 3d printable model? (I assume you recreated the rogue set too since you said it’s nearly identical, and it’s a very recognizable brand for anyone that does weight lifting or gym stuff).
It’s like suggesting it’d be plagiarism because you wrote a book about the Grand Canyon but then realized Bob over there already wrote a book about the Grand Canyon.
It took me all of 2 seconds to find the product in question. Haha, the stand and all. Rogue is the only one that has any valid say in the matter. It’s their product, their trademarks and copyrights. Unless that other person has a license with Rogue, then they wouldn’t really have any right to come and tell you no.
I don’t think you can recreate a real world product and then try to own that with any level of exclusivity.
there are different standards of plagiarism.
right and wrong.
If the idea is not yours don’t claim it is. give credit. and if they don’t allow remixes don’t modify.
a site like Maker World.
they have their own definition. Just like every site.
copyright.
there is an industry trying to define that answer. It is not a simple question. For example training AI. there is significant arguments on both sides. Just saying there is not a right answer. With copyright infringement there can be significant value lost or gained.
I have had millions stolen from me with copyright, from products I have designed, being knocked off.
Makerworld is a hypocrisy wrapped inside another hypocrisy. All the Star Wars, Disney and other copyright violations they have on their website that are under licenses and some under commercial licenses in which Makerworld makes money off but then someone gets in trouble for a look-alike design.
by the Copyright standard there is a lot on all the 3d printed sites that would absolutely fail.
The common misconception is fan art. Fan art does not give you a free pass. Legally it is wrong. Even if you win, you would have to pay your attorney a large sum. For most “fan art” it is an open and shut case. Iron man is copyrighted.
But for your example of a remix. Did you give credit to the original. Did they say remixes are ok?
I have not looked at your specifics. Too big of rabbit hole.
I don’t like the fact that many people think “if it is on the internet it is fair game.” (not true). Morally it is wrong. It is stealing an idea from someone else. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. They might have posted it for others to print, maybe with the option of remixing. Add your change, but at least give credit.
Remixing does not make it available to print and sell. The original can easily take everything you sold it for including what it cost to make.
That is basically the business model of the so-called tech bros. A bunch of trust fund babies who stole the ideas and technology of others. It was how Microsoft gained its product line, copying (i.e. stealing) the work of others. Danaher is like that. A couple of brothers with a sizable inheritance who wanted to start a tech company but lacked the skills to develop anything on their own. So they bought up companies and laid off all the engineers and other workers who developed the technology. Now the tech bros have AI to do the stealing for them which is why Nvidia has been turning out inferior video cards.
It has a lot to do with why manufacturing has all gone to China. America has been looted by the American aristocracy, reducing productivity to little more than what can be taken from others.
I Understand the concept of copyright but was more wondering about the Idea in the 3d printing world and wanted to get a feel for how I should think about that. I understand in this instance I am taking a real world product and recreating it as a 3d printed product thus the original company has more claim then anyone else since we are using their likeness to potentially sell a product. I was more so trying to understand the concept. Like for example if I create a “unique” 3d object that happens to almost identically match someone else “unique” 3d object simply because I didn’t know the other existed what does that look like? Or another example is If i see someone else object and use it simply as inspiration? for example lets say snowflake earrings i am printing for my wife. if i want to start selling snowflake earrings under my own name do I have to attribute my design to someone else simply because i got the idea from them (This is obviously assuming I didn’t copy or trace there specific 3d object/mesh) or do I have to somehow find all existing snowflake earring designs and make sure mine is completely unique? this is all from the angle of wanting to sell these on my own ebay/etsy shop or something like that. I guess I just don’t really know how stringent that is. I intend to only sell designs I have modeled my self.
Read up on Section 230 and you’ll understand exactly why makerworld and othr repositories of user-submitted content all seem to behave the same way re: legal obligations
TLDR: If you can prove ignorance, you’re liable for less, so they just don’t go looking.
I Also understand its impossible to avoid people acting in bad faith against me but I just wanted to take steps early on to avoid stepping on other people and protecting my self since I’m new to this and don’t really know the ends and outs of this aspect of 3d printing
You should assume that anything you post on-line will be stolen and used by someone else, either directly or with some minor modification to try and hide the fact it’s been stolen. You may or may not be willing or able to legally pursue those “infringers”. But legal action (or the threat thereof) is going to be your only option. So be prepared.
If your intent is to make use of someone else’s work, you should do the polite thing and ask. That would avoid any potential conflict. No toes to step on. 
In a prior post I mentioned different standards. It is hard to define. The copyright industry argues what is right and wrong. Where the line is.
The 3d print community will often steal anything they can. The best way to think of it is if you are making your living from creating models. And someone starts selling their prints of your work without attribution or compensation. How do you feel about theft from you. A simple way to think about it is trade positions. designer/thief
To address your question about earrings you modeled. You can’t copyright nature. And if you started from scratch, it would be hard to copy another snow flake. So you are very safe.
Yes it is possible.
there is not a percent changed standard.
You probably know the difference between right and wrong. The right thing is ask permission before. The wrong is to ask forgiveness afterword. You might get away with forgiveness. Unlikely they will see it. The real test of character is: do you do the right thing when no one is watching.
You’ve already received some advice, but I’d like to offer a different perspective. You’re asking the wrong question. First, you need to ask yourself: is it worth protecting at all?
I can tell you right now that the answer is no, because such products already exist on the market and the level of creativity is not very high. In many countries, depending on the legal system, they would simply laugh at you if you pitched this idea.
It sounds harsh, but that’s just how it is. In order to protect your intellectual property, you need knowledge, patience and an understanding of global legal systems. It’s good that you’re asking the question in advance, but it also indicates that neither your products nor your knowledge are ready for it, yet.
Having the rights to a product is one thing, but enforcing them is another. I would first abandon the idea of wanting to protect something unless you really have a unique design.
I can understand why you’re asking this question. You probably want to make money from it at some point to finance your hobby, don’t you? You can do that, but it’s best to start slowly and develop your own ideas first.
I Already have a couple simple Ideas. but like you said there are so many other people who have similar ones. I Just don’t care to be involved in any drama I can avoid (two daughter who give me enough of that) so I wanted to get an idea early on so I can know how to handle this in the future. If it funds my hobby awesome if it helps me buy one or two extra rolls of spools of filament here and there awesome. I don’t have to high of expectations here, but If i am able to understand the “Rules” (I know its not set in stone) I can avoid the drama.