Shapeways Content Policy and Notice Takedown Procedure v1

This out of date version is archived for reference purposes only.

Shapeways Content Policy and Notice Takedown Procedure

In principle we want to let the Shapeways community be as free as possible in sharing their creativity with others. We want to be an inspiring place, and a free flow of ideas, designs and conversation is an essential element of this. We would like to ask everyone to be nice, civil and helpful. We have a few common sense rules that we ask you to keep in mind. These especially relate to copyrights and keeping Shapeways appropriate for a general audience.

Users of the Shapeways Service are responsible for making sure their content complies with this Content Policy.

Copyrights

As specified in our Terms & Conditions, we expect that the creator of a 3D design hold the copyrights to the content. Hence, please only upload your own original work or work that is freely available through a Creative Commons license.

On the Shapeways portal you can let other people see your work by making a model "display to the public” and you can "offer for sale to others". None of these settings will mean that any rights you have to this model will be transferred to the people viewing or ordering your model.

Please do not infringe other people's intellectual property rights. (Intellectual property rights means copyright, patent, registered design, design right, trade mark or trade secret.)

We live in a culture of re-mix, re-use and mashup but a good rule of thumb here is that if a person does not clearly give you the right to use their design, invention, logo, text, slogan etc. then you do not have the right to use it. If you do obtain work through, for example, a Creative Commons attribution license please always give the originator of the material credit for their work. Be nice! This sounds simple but lots of mistakes happen when people ignore this simple rule. We would like everyone to make whatever they like, as 3D printing is a technology that enables innovation and the possibility to make completely new things is unlimited. However, we do take copyright seriously and are legally obliged to respond to any copyright infringement notices we receive.

Content Models

We ask that content which could be interpreted by others as inappropriate for a general audience would be kept 'private'. In case of doubt, choose to keep your model "private".

Some examples of content that is prohibited and will be removed (private or public):

1. Content that may infringe on the rights of a third a party.
2. Content that contains hate speech in any form.
3. Content that contains nudity that is not artistic in nature and/or explicit sexual content.
4. Content that exploits images or the likeness of minors.
5. Content that depicts violence, is obscene, abusive, fraudulent or threatening.
6. Content that resembles weapons or weapon accessories (exceptions are made for miniatures, maximum size 10cm).
7. Material that is generally offensive or in bad taste, as determined by Shapeways.

The list outlined above is not an exhaustive list of prohibited material but rather general guidelines for you to follow.

Commenting and Posting on the Forum

Racism, prejudice or hate speech in any shape or form will not ever be tolerated by us.

When commenting on someone's model please try to be kind and constructive. Hours and hours of work could have gone into a design. A good comment will honor that effort. A good comment should make a person smile, encourage them, allow them to learn something or allow them to improve their work.

We know that everyone has a bad day once in a while. Some of us might be tempted to take this out on others. This is childish, grow up. We take a dim view of flamers and negativity in general. This is not to say that Shapeways should be a place where people only say, "you are awesome", "no you are awesomer", "no you are awesomest" to each other. There should be room for criticism but it should always be constructive.

Consequences

At all times, Shapeways has the right to change the status of a model deemed inappropriate to 'private.' If a post or comment does not comply with this Content Policy it will be removed from the Website. In case of repeated gross misconduct, Shapeways reserves the right to close a user account or to even ban a particular person from the Website altogether.

Notice Take Down

In order to cooperate with and protect intellectual property right owners, we implemented the following notice take down system. In case you find content on the Shapeways website which you think is inappropriate, might infringe your intellectual property right or does not comply to our content policy, please notify us.

In the email please indicate the allegedly infringing content, a statement on why you believe that the use of the content is not authorized by the copyright holder and some identifying information about yourself so that we can contact you. We will investigate the reported content and decide whether, according to Shapeways, the claim is deemed to be valid and the content needs to be removed.

Further, in case a 3D model which is found to be infringing, has already been turned into a printed model, we retain the right to destroy it, provided it is still in our possession, and cancel your order in accordance with the terms indicated in the Shapeways Terms and Conditions under section "Order". In such case we might require you to indemnify us for our damages as set forth in the Shapeways Terms and Conditions under section "Indemnification".

With regard to non-published 3D design (see section Intellectual Property Rights in the Shapeways Terms and Conditions), in order to protect third party intellectual property right owners who, in such case, may not be able to benefit from our Notice-Take-Down Procedure, we retain the right to review and refuse any order when it, in our own discretion, appears to infringe third party intellectual property rights, or, in our discretion the 3D model does not comply with this Content Policy.

In addition, Shapeways has adopted the following general policy toward copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The address of the Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement ("Designated Agent") is listed at the end of this policy.

Procedure for Reporting Copyright Infringement

If you believe that material or content residing on or accessible through the Shapeways Website infringes a copyright, please send a notice of copyright infringement containing the following information to the Designated Agent listed below:

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that has been allegedly infringed; Identification of works or materials being infringed;
2. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing including information regarding the location of the infringing materials that the copyright owner seeks to have removed, with sufficient detail so that Shapeways is capable of finding and verifying its existence;
3. Contact information about the notifier including address, telephone number and, if available, e-mail address;
4. A statement that the notifier has a good faith belief that the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
5. A statement made under penalty of perjury that the information provided is accurate and the notifying party is authorized to make the complaint on behalf of the copyright owner.

Please contact the Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement for Company:

Contact Peter Weijmarshausen by email or at
Shapeways HQ
419 Park Ave South #900
New York, NY 10016
USA

When removing content from the site, Shapeways will make reasonable attempts to inform the user of the notice for removal, the reason for the removal, and may provide the user with a copy of the notice and the notifying party’s contact information. Shapeways will endeavor to remove the content in a timely manner. We take our users’ privacy seriously and will not give out a user’s details unless legally obliged to do so with a court order.

Removal of Allegedly Infringing Content

Once proper notification of copyright infringement is received by the Designated Agent, Shapeways may remove or disable access to such content. If Shapeways removes or disables access to content in response to an infringement notice, Shapeways will make reasonable attempts to notify the user that Shapeways has removed or disabled access to the content.

Procedure to Supply a Copyright Counter-Notice to the Designated Agent:

If you materially misrepresent that a product or activity is not infringing upon the intellectual property, you may be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees). Therefore, if you are not sure whether or not the content infringes on the intellectual property, please contact an attorney before contacting Shapeways.

If you believe that your content does not infringe any copyrights, you must send a counter-notice, pursuant to Sections 512(g)(2) and (3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please do not re-list or reactivate the content yourself. The counter-notice must contain the following information to the Designated Agent listed below.

1. Your physical or electronic signature (by fax or regular mail – not by email, except by prior agreement);
2. Identification of the content that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the content appeared before it was removed or disabled;
3. A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the you have a good faith belief that the content was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the content;
4. Your name, address, telephone number, and, if available, e-mail address and a statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal Court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or if your address is located outside the United States, for any judicial district in which Shapeways is located, and that you will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person.

If a counter-notice is received by the Designated Agent, Shapeways may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that Shapeways may replace the removed content or cease disabling it in 10 business days. Unless the copyright or intellectual property owner files an action seeking a court order against the user, the removed content may be replaced or access to it restored in 10 to 14 business days after receipt of the counter-notice, at Shapeways’s discretion.

Please contact Shapeways’s Designated Agent to submit Notifications of Claimed Infringement and Copyright Counter-Notices at the following address:

Contact Peter Weijmarshausen by email or at
Shapeways HQ
419 Park Ave South #900
New York, NY 10016
USA

If you have any other questions please feel free to send us a message.