What are the ethics of selling prints from makerworld?

MakerWorld
1

I was planning to sell some prints to help pay off my printer, and was wondering if it is okay to sell prints with models from makerworld. Of course credits will be given to the orginal author. Would selling prints in that case be alright?

I also have noticed that some models have a creative commons license, wont that apply to the digitals models itself also? and not the actual print itself?

I have no where near the printing capacity as other that makes prints for a buisness (literally have 1 printer) so im checking out what are the ethics of all this.

2

Check the model’s license. If it says NC - NonCommercial, then don’t sell prints of it.

CC’s NonCommercial (NC) licenses prohibit uses that are “primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation.”

https://creativecommons.org/faq/#does-my-use-violate-the-noncommercial-clause-of-the-licenses

11 Likes
3

This cleared it up for me, i though it was limited to the digital copy of the models only and does not extend to the actual prints.

This might sound sketchy, but how about “heavily inspired” models? or for models that just turned out to be 95% similar because i didnt know it already exist

4

if you sell it online the models could be cc but at a craft show you can sell anything you want no matter who made it and i dont knwo if its bad or not but nobodys going to stop you

5

it isn’t illegal, but it’s morally bad, especially if the creator asks people not to sell prints of the model. Think about it this way; a creator gives out a model for free, Non-Commercial license, and asks that prints are not sold; it is morally wrong to outright ignore the creator’s request, because that model costs the user/printer nothing, but has cost the creator their time and labour.
How are we, the model creators, expected to make a living if we give the models away for free, only for printers to profit off that free labour, most of whom don’t even mention where their models come from? It is disheartening, to have one’s work sold off for profit, without them even saying “This person made it, not me” when asked.

So, just for consideration; if you are in doubt about being able to sell a creator’s work, kindly ask them first.

10 Likes
6

go out and sell them yourself or dont list them for free if you feel that strongly about it,morals dont matter when it comes to money imo

3 Likes
7

I already do both. This was about being considerate of others. Since I now know who you are as a person, I won’t be discussing this further with you.

6 Likes
9

I didn’t see Standard Digital File License mentioned.

This work 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.

If someone has this licence, you didn’t design it, you can print it for your enjoyment, but, nothing other than that.

You can’t sell the work you printed with this licence.

Everything we are talking about here is Intellectual Property (IP).

When someone creates something, they own the IP. They choose what can be done with their work. Some are happy for anything to be done with it, including profiting from someone else’s hard work.

If they do NOT allow others to profit from their IP, that is their right. They have chosen to share their work so others can enjoy it, not so people can sell the work. Simply saying "I stole this from someone doesn’t make it legal.

This isn’t about morals, it is about the potential for you to be taken to court and prosecuted for theft, which is exactly what you would be doing.

Some people think theft is a bad thing, I am one of those.

10 Likes
10

If I would find someone selling my printed models I will immediately contact them to stop it and if they continue my lawyer will contact them. For sure.

Do you know about copyright? It’s not about moral question, you are stealing my job.

Otherwise I could print the last book bestsellers and sell them on my own. But trust me you will have several problems then.

So, if you still would like to sell print not allowed to be sold, just contact the author and ask him.

6 Likes
11

I have many people literally asking me “how much to make me one of those?”. I would have no problem paying a maker for a license to reproduce their work, but, I can’t find anyway to contact them, and I can’t find anything saying this is even an option or if a maker agrees to not sell licenses? I have 2 specific models I would love to see the cost to buy a license to sell them (not huge quantity but it would be at a profit) - how to I contact the makers? Thanks!!

12

Click on their name and send them a message:

Screenshot 2024-09-14 184934
Screenshot 2024-09-14 184934612×611 58 KB

2 Likes
13

COOOL - I was looking for that and no matter what I did I could not get to that bio-display … then I went to the makerworld website and not in the desktop app and made all the difference, was able to get right to the contact section. Thanks!!

14

might agree but i mean then they should not post and not allow anything. maybe they are making money out of it or maybe not. but… and it is a but if someone is smart enough and manages to sell that item whilst the designer is unable to then…

15

We have to be honest, and that’s what is missing in this world. I know, many people download a model, print it and then sell a couple without even remembering the license attached to said model.

I am one of those who always contact the model creator before selling anything. I could get away with it just by selling and saying nothing but it’s morally wrong and i know it. I don’t use Etsy or any kind of online store, everything i sell is direct to the person and yet, again, i feel morally bad when i know that someone has created something for free and had no support while i am here, selling his stuff.

The world has to be balanced and everyone should, by themselves, think what’s acceptable or not. A few bucks/euros for a license is nothing when comparing the number of sales you can make.

Also, as a side note. I don’t like monthly subscriptions and avoid them as much as i can but some creators insist on Patreon and a monthly payment. In those cases, i must pay but i really hate it.

4 Likes
16

The license is not the copyright, it is the terms and conditions under which you can use a copyrighted work. So whether or not the copyright applies to a print from a copyrighted file doesn’t matter, the license is what determines your access to the and use of the file and it can restrict what you can do with the print as well. It’s an agreement between you and the rights holder.

A license doesn’t necessarily restrict what you can do with a print, but in the case of the CC license it probably does. You should read the license instead of relying on symbols or summaries (or forum questions) when you have questions about your rights under a license, if it is a proper license it will explain everything you need to know. Example:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode.en

Unfortunately this doesn’t apply to the “standard digital license” since it isn’t a real license, it’s just something makerworld incompletely stole from another site without reading it first.

17

While I believe the following practice is morally wrong, there are people that will give the printed model away for free and charge for the “box” the model is sent in. Something like:

Shipping: $5
Model: $0
Shipping Box: $25

Not cool IMHO, but I’ve seen it done.

2 Likes
18

That wouldn’t get around the license if any photos of the design are used in the selling of the box…

19

Nonsense. But misleading business practices.

If someone acts with the intention of making a profit and manufactures and sells products for which he does not own the necessary rights, he is liable to prosecution.

How he allocates his costs is irrelevant, that is his problem alone. In the end, the only question is whether the product used was the cause of the turnover.

So you can’t make a Ferrari yourself and give it away together with a box that costs 1 million.

20

ff this question. Would it be okay to sell 3d-printed items created/modeled in MakerLab (like ‘Make My Vase,’ etc.)?

21

Yes, there are no commercial restrictions on selling items made by the MW tools.