This it is a trademark of Valve Corporation -ways.com/model/2013630/dota-2-logo.html?mod elId=2013630&materialId=6 m and this one too -ways.com/model/1564449/dota-2-bloodseeker.h tml?modelId=1564449&materialId=6 This one it is a pornographic material https:-ways.com/model/1928195/vagina-bowl.html?mod elId=1928195&materialId=63 this type of things must be private and are Illegal to be sold without verification if there it is an adult buying it ?! And this one -ways.com/model/1838552/babydick.html?modelI d=1838552&materialId=6 ? Another one it is a property of SEGA Corporation -ways.com/model/1387234/sonic-the-hedgehog.h tml?modelId=1387234&materialId=26 Valve coporation owned IP -ways.com/model/648180/portal-pack.html?mode lId=648180&materialId=61 There are not fan art , they are products and violation of Copyright Law under Berne Convention and equivalent DMCA in U.S. Content policy state this : "Some examples of content that is prohibited and will be removed (private or public): Content that may infringe on the rights of a third a party. Content that contains hate speech in any form. Content that contains nudity that is not artistic in nature and/or explicit sexual content. Content that exploits images or the likeness of minors. Content that depicts violence, is obscene, abusive, fraudulent or threatening. Content that resembles weapons or weapon accessories (exceptions are made for miniatures, maximum size 10cm). Material that is generally offensive or in bad taste, as determined by Shapeways." Shapeways where are your attorneys ?
Read up on DMCA, in particular the "safe harbor" construct. Shapeways will expressly not check all uploaded content for violations, but will react to take-down notices (usually expected to come from representatives of the rights holder). Also note that there is a "report inappropriate content" button on each model page, please use this to report wrongdoings if so inclined. It is probably very much debatable what constitutes pornographic content - his excellency the Grand Mufti of Tehran will probably hold a much different view from the average Dutchman,
Shapeways it is in E.U. and U.S. the laws are similar on copyright and pornographic content. That means two laws apply and Shapeways and other uploaders must obey either E.U. law and either U.S. on that. On other hand it is not making to much vaild points on the OWN Shapeways RULES / GUIDELINES the one I copy pasted. Any commercial product made from a patent or trademark it is a violation of the law if there it is not a contract between the designer and the holder of the rights. There it is not a "fair use" in E.U. on that part it is an infringement. People have no right to sell a product based on a trademark. This it is a trademark http://store.valvesoftware.com/product.php?i=M0251 and any product based on the trademark it is a violation if there it is no contract that give the right to manufacture a product based on it! And here the gun from portal made by Valve http://store.valvesoftware.com/product.php?i=AP2019 this is a product! Registered ... it is not a kid game to copy others work,
LOL! I think it's best don't make walls or don't close gates in internet. If you consider something offensive, don't look it! And Disney or another big corporations have its own big payed lawyers to defend its own interest. I prefer designer make designs, shapeways printing company makes prints, and everyone on his own. Or shapeways can start rejecting models of crosses, stars, pigs, even Santa Claus to be politically correct. Friendly, Luis P.e.: I always consider pornografic the rings. A finger into a hole....
Guys the same law give you the right to get paid on Shapeways , it is not a joke. If in doubt ask a lawyer. You all signed a contract that you will upload original content and obey the law!
How do you know who might have negotiated a license with the respective owners of the intellectual property, however unlikely it may seem ? I do agree with you insofar as it is unfortunate IF people use shapeways to create rip-offs of certain concepts, but neither you nor me have any contractual obligations or other legal standing in potential conflicts between some other customer and a company, living artist or artist's estate. Would you prefer to have to provide extensive paperwork, affidavits or notarial documents whenever you upload a design for printing ?
To repeat: Posting a long list of items you disagree with - in the forum - does not initiate the proper process within Shapeways. You need to use the "flag as inappropriate" link on each individual model. And, as was said, per the "safe harbor" portion of the DCMA law, it doesn't do any good to report a copyrighted item unless YOU are the copyright holder. It is not incumbent on Shapeways to validate copyrights, they are only obligated to respond to takedown requests from copyright owners.
The pussy in the bowl and the baby dick isn't pornography I think. They're fun items and parts of the body. We shouldn't be scared to look at them. The pussy in the bowl doesn't arouse nothing in me either, because it's not an actual pussy on an actual woman. I won't buy such an item but I don't criticise also the people who buy them as long as they have good intentions. Best regards
Is there a Shapeways job position opening for "arbiter of trademarks, licenses, and good taste" that I'm not aware of?
I think the position is that they have a "content policity" rules as a disclaimer from possible copyright or somethingelses complaints or trials, but they aren't doing the work to the corporations lawyers. I'm very comfortable with that. And I like to have available the awesome works of many designers in stuff from galactica, star wars, star trek, disney, marvel, etc. that could be dissapeared if shapeways change his "permisive" policity. And I don't own the property of any rights of the trademarks I listed. I hope nobody lapidates me for write these names without autorisation of owner.
Well, if there is they keep a very low profile... Also, the recent competition run by SW about the FIFA World Cup should have got this person into action but did not...
I wrote a blogpost about intellectual property rights and 3D printing for Shapeways, but it's not posted (yet) A lot of Shapeways users don't seem to know much about IP rights, or they simply chose to ignore it. However, uploading models that infringe IP rights doesn't give much trouble. First of all, most IP right holders don't know about their work being copied. Ever tried looking for a 3D shape with google? Secondly, it is obvious that the content like marvel figures is not from the actual IP right holder, and the profits made are low. So why bother? And finally, if they decide to take action, they will first give a warning. So you can take your IP infringing content down without suffering from any punishments. And I can see why Shapeways is not warning the uploaders themself. People love fanmade art. Movies, cartoons, games, everything has at least copyright. (unless the copyright holder is dead for at least 70 years, but that's not very common with popular stuff). This doesn't justify any IP right infringement. Know the rights, and don't break them. You wouldn't like it if your work would be copied.
To add to what Daphne wrote, there have been a few cases - made public in the forum by the affected users - where people actually received a "cease and desist" (and even one embarrassing case where a supposedly original design was featured on the blog for a short time before the actual designer threatened legal action), so do not assume it will never happen. Also, at least in some jurisdictions, IP lawyers can claim "reasonable" compensation for their work, and rights owners may even sue for damages if there is reason to assume that the infringing business was big enough to affect their own sales and/or reputation. A key point that the original poster seemed to be missing is the distinction between criminal and civil law - as bystanders we might find it in very bad taste that somebody tries to sell some fairly well known movie or games props, but we do not have any say in the matter except maybe to tip off the rights owner. (Edited to fix spurious hard linebreaks)
On the other hand (how many hands is that?) one person served with a c&d notice was subsequently apparently offered work on the basis of their rip-offs, which I found somewhat galling. It just goes to show...
The case of Paul and Marvel is quite unique. Really great for him, but it's not going to happen to the average maker of IP infringing models. What really surprises me is the fact that he still sells Trademark infringing models (just not of Marvel anymore)
...that it is up to the rights owner how he sees fit to protect his rights. (And that case you refer to involved an avid cosplayer running around in shapeways-printed superhero gear,so the decision to employ him as a public relations figure was a salomonic idea imo).
I didn't want to point out anyone specifically (the number of blatant infringements on SW is huge) - but from this particular designer's perspective the downside is minimal (take-down specific models) and the upside large (get employment). In those circumstances a pragmatic/cynical person might say that it's the correct choice. But even without the upside, the downside is so minimal there is little disincentive, it seems, to infringement.
I would hope that he got wise enough to come to some agreement with the owner of that trademark, maybe even using his new acquaintances in the IP law business as middlemen Suggest you try to PM him about that instead of posting an allegation ?