# 3D Printing > General 3D Printing Discussion >  Thingiverse Designs - Can we print and sell other peoples stuff?

## aWsomeABE

I am very new to 3D printing.  However, I notice that there are a ton of great designs at thingiverse, that can be downloaded and printed at home on our printers.  My question is what are the legalities of this?  Am I legally allowed to print multiple copies and sell them in a store or on eBay?  If I did this, can I be sued?

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## MysteryAlabaster

It depends on what they have their model licensed under.

You can print whatever you want for yourself, but once you start selling to others, it's a whole new game with all new rules.

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## aWsomeABE

How do you determine what it is licensed as?

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## MysteryAlabaster

It should say somewhere on the page for the item.

I think there are currently three options for licencing... You might have to Google what they are once you find it though, sorry.

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## jimc

its the whole creative commons things. there are different levels of that which you will need to look up to see what means what.

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## Jo1212

So basically there are 4 different licenses that the thingiverse designs can be under.

1. All Rights Reserved. Basically, all rights reserved.

2. Creative Commons. You can do what ever you like the design, providing that you give the designer proper recognition

3. Non-commercial

4. Something else I've never heard of.


I am 99.99% positive I'm right, but to be safe:

All Rights Reserved: Google it.

Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

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## TeddyYan

> 2. Creative Commons. You can do what ever you like the design, providing that youtgive the designer proper recognition


So does this mean that you can sell a million copies on eBay as long as you mention who made the design?

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## Marcus

Yes, if the licence does not limit commerical use.

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## Compro01

> So does this mean that you can sell a million copies on eBay as long as you mention who made the design?


As long as it isn't one of the NC (No Commercial use) creative commons licenses, yes.

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## Jo1212

Basically what Compro01 said.

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## NBot

If you look at the Thingiverse terms of use or TOS, sec 2.1 explicitly limits use of the *site* to non-commercial use.

*2.1	License.* Subject to these Terms of Use, Company grants you a non-transferable, non-exclusive, license to use the Site and Services for your personal, noncommercial use.If you have any questions regarding  thingiverse related IP or use, I recommend you open a support ticket with MakerBot by emailing them at support@makerbot.com

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## Compro01

> If you look at the Thingiverse terms of use or TOS, sec 2.1 explicitly limits use of the *site* to non-commercial use. 
> 
> *2.1    License.* Subject to these Terms of Use, Company grants you a non-transferable, non-exclusive, license to use the Site and Services for your personal, noncommercial use.If you have any questions regarding  thingiverse related IP or use, I recommend you open a support ticket with MakerBot by emailing them at support@makerbot.com


That just means you can't use the site as a vehicle for advertising or selling stuff.  It has no effect on the designs on the site.

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## DrLuigi

I am sure if you just sell it on a second hand website nobody will do anything with it,

Its just if you realy have a shop and start selling it to realy earn money its better you are sure its Okay what your doing,

But if its just selling it to friends or Ebay/Second hand websites its okay and you shouldnt worry.

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## robertl

I personally have uploaded a few designs to "thingyverse" and a few other 3D sites.
and if someone wants to print any of them for personal use, even giving to family / friends. i have no problem.
but if someone starts a commercial venture printing and selling my designs and i found out i would be VERY upset.
this should be a free sharing community. I hope I am paying forward in some small way.

robert

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## DTaylor

Copyright is very interesting with this type of thing.  If the Creative Commons license says commercial is ok (as opposed to non-commercial), you should be ok.

Keep in mind, the original designer technically owns the copyright.  They have granted you the license to duplicate their design in physical form and sell it.

So, you do not get the rights to the design, you only get a license to use the design.

Even if you make a derivative work (you modify it, to make a "new" design), it is still based on their design and they have rights to your new creation.

HOWEVER, I have been told by lawyers that once you get all legal about this, things change.  If someone truly wanted to sue, the court system only acknowledges copyrights that have been registered.  I would be surprised if there are many copyrighted designs that individuals have made.

Of course, this is no reason to blatantly take someone's design (because you know they cannot sue), but it is something to be aware of.

Also, due to the DMCA (Digital Media Copyright Act), if you accidentally put up copyrighted material, it is very easy for the copyright owner to request for it to be removed and for it to come down quickly.  The process is very streamlined...

Drew Taylor
https://3Dagogo.com

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## Markum_Debreeze

I'm curious.  What percent of stuff you find on Thingiverse has a Commercial Creative Commons license?  Do most of them allow you to sell your prints?

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## rene1981

> I'm curious.  What percent of stuff you find on Thingiverse has a Commercial Creative Commons license?  Do most of them allow you to sell your prints?


Most objects can be selled. But, you have to put the source with the print.

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## Compro01

> I'm curious.  What percent of stuff you find on Thingiverse has a Commercial Creative Commons license?  Do most of them allow you to sell your prints?


I just pulled up the 25 most recent things and made note of the licenses.  Here's what I got

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) - 22
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) - 1
Public Domain (CC0) - 1
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) - 1

Admittedly a rather cursory sample, but it looks like BY-SA is decidedly the most common license and it allows for commercial use, as long as you *keep their name on it* (see here for how to do that properly) *AND make the the model available to anyone buying the prints you're selling*, giving them the same rights to the model as you received.

Only one of the 25 models prohibited commercial use.

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