Ethics and legal issues for selling printed objects
I am curious as to what ethical or legal issues there are to selling printed objects when you get the .stl from a public site like Prusa or Thingiverse. The models themselves seem to generally be public domain or maybe listed as attribution. Of course anything listed as not-for-profit or non-commercial are out of the question, but otherwise are there any considerations that need to be made when selling such objects? Thanks.
RE: Ethics and legal issues for selling printed objects
Legally I think you're OK if it's been released under a license that allows it, but from an ethical perspective I think it's generally considered bad taste to profit (excessively) from it (e.g. the firestorm regarding ebay sellers doing just that, though they did also do non-commercial objects). A minimal charge to cover costs (materials, time, electricity) is not unreasonable.
But if you really want to be on the moral right, try to contact the author, ask for permission, and maybe do send them a percentage of any profit you make since no matter how you slice it (heh) you are making a profit off their work and they deserve recognition for that.
RE: Ethics and legal issues for selling printed objects
Legally I think you're OK if it's been released under a license that allows it, but from an ethical perspective I think it's generally considered bad taste to profit (excessively) from it (e.g. the firestorm regarding ebay sellers doing just that, though they did also do non-commercial objects). A minimal charge to cover costs (materials, time, electricity) is not unreasonable.
But if you really want to be on the moral right, try to contact the author, ask for permission, and maybe do send them a percentage of any profit you make since no matter how you slice it (heh) you are making a profit off their work and they deserve recognition for that.
Overall I agree with what was said here, though I'd offer one caveat that it depends on what you are doing.
If you are selecting the object(s) and "mass" producing them, then yes to everything @vintagepc said.
If, however, you are only printing off copies asked for by a customer (e.g. print farm type setup), then I wouldn't feel any obligation to the creator of the object unless you know that the buyer supplied you objects that they shouldn't have (regardless of if they have them legally).
RE: Ethics and legal issues for selling printed objects
[...] But if you really want to be on the moral right, try to contact the author, ask for permission, and maybe do send them a percentage of any profit you make since no matter how you slice it (heh) you are making a profit off their work and they deserve recognition for that.
I agree that this is the ethical thing to do. However, the creator of the piece is responsible for selecting the licensing terms. If I release something as creative commons, I really can't complain if it's used in any manner prescribed in the license. You can't retroactively go back and change the licensing terms. If I specified CC with attribution, I do want to see that attribution somewhere.
I like the license terms that specify something like "if sold, 5% of proceeds must go to the creator" to avoid any ambiguity. Use my stuff freely, but if you sell it, I want a cut. No questions there.
I ran into this a couple of years back when designing custom watchfaces for the then-new Android Wear watches. I was creating faces for an app that allowed user programming and graphics and sharing them in the Google+ community with open licensing. A lot of guys got upset when their free designs were found to be part of big eBay watch face bundles and started locking down their designs. I figured anybody reduced to selling free stuff on eBay wasn't making much on it, so didn't really care since I'd specified a CC license.
The bigger problems are the types that will sell items while ignoring the licensing terms.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Ethics and legal issues for selling printed objects
The above notes are indeed valid - my post was in the context of mass-production-print-farm to churn out and sell multiples, not on-demand customer orders/requests like a "get this printed" button.
RE: Ethics and legal issues for selling printed objects
The above notes are indeed valid - my post was in the context of mass-production-print-farm to churn out and sell multiples, not on-demand customer orders/requests like a "get this printed" button.
If you're complying with the licensing terms, I wouldn't have an issue with it. Some people contribute things to the community hoping it's turns out for the greater good. Think the polio vaccine. Sure, money is made with it, but Salk was more concerned about helping people. I have no aspirations of ever producing anything so important, but I do release stuff hoping someone finds it useful, whether they buy it made or make it themselves.
You have to develop a code of ethics you can adhere to. If you decide to contact the creator of the design, what are you going to do if they object but released it under a license that allows such mass production? Better to just print it and see if they object? Not print the parts? Unfortunately, many things get murky in business.
and miscellaneous other tech projects
He is intelligent, but not experienced. His pattern indicates two dimensional thinking. -- Spock in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan
RE: Ethics and legal issues for selling printed objects
Thank you all for your input. I was indeed thinking of small scale sales, maybe up to a local craft fair rather than ordering a boat load from China (figuratively speaking). If I ever get into something like this I will contact the author and verity they are ok with it. Personally I would be fine with someone selling something I made, although as pointed out by @vintagepc and @bobstro I think I would also like a cut of the action. Aside from legal issues then is to treat others and you would want to be treated. Good advice. Thank you.