hey guys, i’m quite new to 3D printing communities and have been loving Makerworld so far, but I noticed that many of my beloved designs are stolen. Blatant theft on Printables, reported these two accounts last night and still no response, how should i proceed?
Just do what everyone else does while they still bother to care.
Report the issue and wait, then hope the models and accounts will be removed.
Be prepared to provide proof, like links to the originals showing an earlier date and such - otherwise your takedown request will probably be ignored.
I not longer bother publishing meaningful models for this very reason…
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For clarity, are these your models that have been stolen?
Have they been copied from a MakerWorld account and placed on printables or the other way around?
Be as descriptive as possible so we can help if we can.
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Yes a little clarity would help.
As far as I can tell those two accounts are stealing a variety of different models from various others users both on Markerworld and Printables.
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Sorry I shoulda’ve been more specific. These are not my models, but several ones I’ve downloaded from makerworld and I can clearly tell that these two accounts are not the original designer
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Due to the fact of the following models being hosted by a separate model hosting website, this will solely rely on (Printables.com) to provide support regarding the manor.
This isn’t a new method of copyright infringement upon model makers & creators and has continued to be an issue for well over the past decade. The latest issue is that this has increased amongst the community and actual laws pertaining to the terms and conditions of “creator content” cannot be forced upon and only under strict conditions can/will be enforced.
Lots of money and time are first to be required if pursuit of legal actions are to take place. geographical location of individual committing such acts is a large factor as well due to certain countries either not having copyright laws in place or instances of not being able to pursue actions due to location being too far for a lawyer to pursue.
I’ve stated many times now that the most guaranteed way of not risking IP theft or copyright infringement of your designs is to NOT post anything online. If it’s here for someone to see, it’s already most likely been taken.
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license type is everything on cross site hosting , it may not always be stolen , that said it does appear a lot of people and their models are coming back to the world of 3d printing
Just wait until OpenAI enter the domain and “genAI” everything…
If the license is anything but standard it is technically allowed. This is why I don’t upload most of my models with anything but standard/strict licenses. If they’re not your models you also don’t really have a claim to report as far as copyright goes. If you concern yourself with these things you’ll spend every waking moment of your time finding and reporting thieves, they’re everywhere.
If I spot a model I recognise (usually because I printed it) on MW copied from another MW account, I do three things:
- I thoroughly investigate it. It is possible that the more successful (or just the one I chose to print) was uploaded after the apparent imposter.
Provided I am satisfied that my belief matches reality, I continue.
- I DM the actual owner (as I believe it to be) and inform them which of their models I think is being stolen, usually the name, their URL and the URL of the offending party’s model. I recommend they report it to MW and tell them I have.
- I report the stolen model to MW with the same information.
I have done this for several people on the forum, long before I knew they were on the forum (as I am still relatively new here).
I do the same as you with the licences. I like to control what I give away for free, that is my right.
I think we should all report theft if we believe it to be valid though, it makes for a better community.
I have yet to have one of those reports fail.
The thieves have one major issue to overcome, they steal the biggest models with the largest download counts in the hopes of getting away with it. THis also makes it hard for the idiots to get away with it.
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It’s interesting to see this post because just today I saw a model that was exactly the same as another model that was suggested by makerworld as related, and I mean all the parts were the same except some color changes, without it even being a remix or anything.
I do believe makerworld is at fault for not having the staff to maintain a cleaner community, since it clearly has the tools but doesn’t enforce any of the rules.
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One of mine is stolen and on makerworld. Very SLIGHTLY remixed. License is for no remixes. It was a contest winner on printables. I reported it to makerworld and they did nothing about it. Oh well i guess 
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Welcome to the forum.
Can you post the link to your model and the one on Makerworld?
Provide the link.
Some of us have better luck than others.
Include the following:
- Your MW link to the model.
- Your Printables link to the model.
- The link to the stolen model.
All they added was a second swoosh to the branches and lines to the skirt. Then later added threads to the sections. Everything else, like the stars, were all added later per request on printables. That’s why they arent in the pictures, but ARE in the files, on printables.
www.printables.com/model/13347-christmas-tree-kissmas-treenew-files
I’m new to the “makerworld” community so i don’t have anything posted here yet. Just on printables and some on thingiverse.
Midjourney already has - there’s tons of AI generated stuff on Makerworld, usually posted as a Hueforge print. I think my favorite so far has one of Jason from Friday the 13th with 6 fingers… 
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The problem here is there are too many differences to prove your case.
Yours
- Tip of the tree expands out
- Top of the tree has nothing printed
- Furthest edge of the branch is rounded
- Each main branch is singular
- Base has steps at the bottom
- Base in plain
Theirs
- Tip of the tree is straight
- Top of the tree has a printed ornament
- Furthest edge of the branch is sharply cut and angled
- Each main branch is two-pronged
- Base is a smooth cone
- Base has strips of decoration at points
At best your argument can be yours inspired theirs.
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I figured something along those lines, that’s why i haven’t done much to pursue it. Although i have a couple versions of the printed topper as well. Like others have mentioned, it’s kind of inevitable at some point. Even if it was completely redesigned from the ground up some attribution for the inspiration would have been nice.
At one or two of your models on here as soon as possible.
Then apply for this. I am about to do the same so I can’t tell you how effective it is.
The criteria require you to have an account on MW and at least one other using the same name. It isn’t given to those who do not have an account elsewhere and it is not used to verify the the credibility of the individual.
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