Understanding Makerworld's Standard Digital File License

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  1. It’s not “Standard”.
    There is no such standard license as the “Standard Digital File License”. It’s not “standard” at all. Don’t confuse it with one by referring to the “standard” license as if it has some context outside of STL hosting sites, it doesn’t.

  2. It’s not a license. It grants no rights.
    That wording was too easy to read as saying that the user has no permission at all. That was not my point. A better way to put it would have been The Standard Digital File License does not itself contain a clear grant of permission. Without that, the permission to download and print the model has to come solely from an appreciation of the way the model was published. When a creator publicly posts a model on Makerworld it is reasonable and expected for a user to understand that as permission to download and print it. That permission is implied by the circumstances but is not stated in the text. So for an accounting of exactly what is authorized a user now needs to rely on two separate things: the implied permission created by the author uploading the model and then the restrictions listed in the Standard Digital File License.

  3. Where it came from:

MyMiniFactory (circa 2018)

Standard Digital File Store License
Digital files sold on MyMiniFactory through the digital file store have a strict non-commercial, personal use only license. You shall not share, sub-license, sell, rent, host, transfer, or distribute in any way the digital or 3D printed versions of this object, nor any other derivative work of this object in its digital or physical format (including - but not limited to - remixes of this object, and hosting on other digital platforms). The objects may not be used in any way whatsoever in which you charge money, collect fees, or receive any form of remuneration. The Standard Digital File Store License overrides any other licensing option on this page (in particular: no remixing and no commercial use allowed).

Which was then probably adapted by Printables:

This work is licensed under a Standard Digital File License.
Digital files have a strict non-commercial, personal use only license.
You shall not share, sub-license, sell, rent, host, transfer, or distribute in any way the digital file or 3D printed versions of this object, nor any other derivative work of this object in its digital or physical format (including remixes of this object).
You can not host these files on other digital platforms, web stores or cloud repositories.
The objects may not be used in any way whatsoever in which you charge money, collect fees.

Which Makerworld adapted to:

This user content is licensed under a Standard Digital File License.
You shall not share, sub-license, sell, rent, host, transfer, or distribute in any way the digital or 3D printed versions of this object, nor any other derivative work of this object in its digital or physical format (including - but not limited to - remixes of this object, and hosting on other digital platforms). The objects may not be used without permission in any way whatsoever in which you charge money, or collect fees.

(which omits the explicit license present in the other two)

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A license can either grant rights, or it can limit rights, or some combination of the two.

The standard digital file license in any site is hardly saying “you can’t do anything with this file” - so I don’t think you can say it grants no rights, full stop. It says what we can’t do, and in so doing, it tells us what we can do.

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I have no comment re “standard” or not, but the Makerworld “Standard Digital File License” is a license. A license typically expresses both grants of rights and restrictions on usage, but need not have both. A grant of rights can be expressed in the negative, with the implication that not violating the restriction is permissible (thus being an implied “grant” of rights). Example: “User may not monetize objects without permission”, the implication being non-monetization usage is permitted (unless restricted by some other provision). However, I agree that the Makerworld license would be more “standard” if it included the “Digital files have a strict non-commercial, personal use only license” clause – an affirmative grant of rights.

The real issue with the Makerworld “Standard Digital File License” is that essentially everyone who prints a 3D object under that license violates the “not share … transfer, or distribute in any way” clause. Examples:

  • Printing a toy and giving it to a child (related or not) – that’s transference, distribution, and sharing.
  • Printing an object and showing it to anyone in person or by means of a photograph (such as by including a photo in a comment on Makerworld) – that’s sharing (as “sharing” is understood by every school child that has participated in a “share day” event).

Crucially, even including the “non-commercial, personal use“ clause would not rectify the “not share … transfer, or distribute in any way” problem. In my opinion, the clause should read “You shall not sub-license, sell, rent, host, commercially transfer, or commercially distribute in any way…“ [notably omitting “share”].

Makerworld needs a better IP lawyer.

John Land, Esq. (IP lawyer since 1978)

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