Ethics question

Please bear with me. This is all jumbled in my head and I'm trying to make it clear to myself and you at the same time.

It all started when I wanted to make a gaming table for playing X-Wing Miniatures. I decided to start the process of making a Death Star table in acrylic. Not wanting to use a 2-D image and being no whiz at 3-D modeling, I scoured the internet for a model that Shapeways could print that would resemble the Death Star. I stumbled upon some files someone had downloaded, modified and converted to Blender format. I took them into Blender, broke them apart and converted each piece to OBJ format which Shapeways ingested and digested into itself.


So here are the steps involved:

Someone makes a popular sci-fi movie

Creators release material for fans on how the Death Star was made

Fan creates a 3-d model in one format and posts it online publicly

Another fan takes and tweaks it in Blender and posts it online publicly

I download it, load it into Blender, break it apart into components and save as OBJ files for Shapeways to print out for myself


Here's the question (FINALLY): what happens if I try to sell the pieces?

If you don`t have a paper signed by the creators that gives you the right to do it. You have a risky situation. Never trust other content uploaded by others , only trust the original creators.

If Lucas Films sues you ... you are blamed not the other user.

When you say that the Creators "released the material", what form was it in? If it was simply a "making of..." video, that is not a "release" of the material.

That's the crucial piece. If the Creators published the information without including a copyright waiver, then the original copyright still belongs to the Creators.

For example: A video documentary is not a "release", or a book of blueprints is still copyrighted.

They released it as fan material. (edit: I use the word release literally, not legally)

For example: Star Trek released tech drawings (for sale) of the original Enterprise. A fan uses them to create a 3D model of the Enterprise as a Lightwave object and posts it as a downloadable file on a public website (like scifi3d dot com).

Another fan downloads that Lightwave file, converts it to Blender and tweaks it and posts it on DeviantArt for download.

I download it and convert it to OBJs for Shapeways and then Shapeways makes changes to make it printable.

Keep in mind, my intention was to print out the pieces for myself to make a table for my use only.

I know there is a thin layer of protection to prevent alienation (ha) of fans. (edit: as long as there's no profit motive)

My curiosity was piqued when I saw the SELL button and all these questions filled my head. The most likely scenario is, if the project turns out looking good, someone comes up to me holding a wad of cash and says "make me one". I don't want a letter from Lucas and Friends.

Idea not yours, original files not yours (and no express permission to use either "as you see fit"), so no, neither ethical nor legal to sell the object (even if you may get away with it initially). Even existence of a "fair use" clause for possession without intention to sell will probably vary with jurisdiction.

Thank you all for the information. I'll stay away from the tempting SELL button.

A table? Are you talking about tiles simulating a space ship surface? Already avaliable out there.