People using other content then their own

It's annoying when you go to a website like etsy or even here possibly, that allows people to sell content that was not
originally created or designed by them.
do these people even realize how much work it was to create the brand to make that creature, item or character even worth something?
How easy would it be to sell a re-create of someones character that already sells for millions in theaters.

And to top it all off, The content policy issues on certain and most sites, have disclosures saying if you do not own the Intellectual property then you cannot submit a complaint or removal notice, so if it goes un-noticed it stays un-noticed.

Just wondering if anyone else has similar thoughts. I understand people using it for personal use tho.
Tried a quick search on shapeways, You guys have the same problem apparently.

Agreed, I find it annoying as well. The laws need to change in this regard I feel. As far as the US is concerned perhaps someone should start a movement to get the laws changed. Here's the best place to go to get started on something like that. I would do it, but I'm not one to cause waves on a mass scale.

Etsy saw some trouble concerning this topic shortly after going public.

To me, I feel companies should be more careful about what they let people sale on their online marketplace platforms. When I see people cheating I get perturbed because they are letting people break the law while I sit here obeying the law. For every product that is put up for sale companies should have a division checking to see if rights have been obtained before letting products onto the marketplaces. Also, in the case of companies like Shapeways, they shouldn't hide behind the DMCA act and say that they have no control over what people are putting up for sale. I know they can legally get away with it, but it makes everyone LOOK BAD in my opinion.

Be careful what you wish for - do you want every "concerned citizen" to be able to report a likeness of your latest model to some "well known" brand item (how much to get on the brand list ?) or just about anything they swear they saw for sale at the corner shop on their latest vacation abroad ? Do you want shapeways to add a vetting phase before the printability check, where each and every model has to sit until the IP lawyers are satisfied that it does not infringe, do you want them to be liable for damages when such a model slips through ?

True. It would be quite a can of worms to cover every copyright and trademark in existence. So, how about just copyrights and trademarks that are known to an average person. That seems to me like it would be easy to implement. The marketplace could simply publish a list of generally know copyrights and trademarks and simply require product developers to submit proof of license to sell if they are going to try to sell anything on the list.

On the other hand, there could be rights holders to well known copyrights and trademarks who don't care at all or maybe even encourage unlicensed distribution. Like Skyrim pendants for example. They are being sold everywhere! If I were the rights holder I could single-handedly send C&D orders to each of those marketplaces and it would take me all of a few hours. So, perhaps the rights holders look at it as a form of free advertising. Or maybe they just don't care, sort of like how most farmers don't care if people in the community stop their car and jump out and grab an apple or two from one of their orchards.

Also, a year or so ago I contacted Lucas Arts in an attempt to get a license and they said no. However, they didn't say selling a product related to their brands was strictly prohibited, they simply said that it would be quote, "inappropriate." I tried to get them to clarify, but there was no reply. It was almost as if there is a sort of unsaid aspect about it that they were hinting at, but at the same didn't want to get into details about.

I have a Star Trek pendant that a client recently asked me to make for them. I could easily put that up for sale, but before I do that, I'm going to contact the rights holder and see what they have to say about it. I wonder what they'll have to say.

If they say no, and you obey, they will be unable to get paid for sending letters. But being fuzzy...

HAHA! Yup! Could be!

LOL love the responses this post got! Yeah def lol ^, would love to see a Shapeways employee have a go at this! Like do you have options to remove and report that item? lets say its a transformer ring.

See shapeways legal counsel Michael Weinberg's series of blog posts on intellectual property, and read about the "digital millenium copyright act" (DMCA) that was mentioned in this thread. In short, you can report models as "inappropriate", e.g. using the small "Report abuse" link at the bottom of each model page, but you have absolutely no legal standing if you are not the rights holder.

See thats how I thought it was, Way lame lol. If I have time ill give it a read, but generally I guess I understood how it works.
Guess its safe to ask if anyone wants some work done? since Optimus Prime isint coming after me or anyone else lol.
No but seriously that sucks in general, maybe it will change one day.

While the situation is unsatisfactory, consider what the alternatives would be - service providers requiring legal proof of rights for every upload or sale, or anybody able to initiate a takedown if he believes he saw a similar design belonging to somebody else ?

Yes absolutely sometimes I need to see both sides, I wouldn't want my model/design to be taken down based on false reports, and imagine people using it to remove competition, But if there was some sort of system in place that worked, I would be glad!