Slashdot Mirror


Ebay Shop Scrapes Thingiverse, Sells Designs In Violation of Creative Commons (all3dp.com)

He Who Has No Name writes: A little over a week ago, Thingiverse user Loubie posted Sad Face! to Thingiverse, protesting the use — without permission — of their designs and those of others by JustPrint3D, an Ebay seller marketing physical prints of the designs in question (over 2,000 by some counts). Despite a terse and legally shaky denial of any wrongdoing by JustPrint3D, there are obviously multiple violations of various iterations of the Creative Commons licenses (several forms of the CC license are options for Thingiverse uploaders to assign to their Things when uploading, and one is the default). Now MakerBot itself is wading into the uproar firmly on the side of its users, and has released a statement mentioning potential legal action.

28 of 138 comments (clear)

  1. Empty by pcjunky · · Score: 5, Informative

    Their Ebay store is empty.

    1. Re:Empty by The+Eight-Bit+Link · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm guessing eBay went in and slapped them to prevent it from crawling back to them, or the seller closed shop and is waiting for it all to blow over.

    2. Re:Empty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Looking through their recent listings, they have a ton of IP issues outside of the MakerBot issue. I see unlicensed Star Wars, GoT, Pokemon, etc. Some big company is going to come along and sue the shit of them.

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Printed-Star-Wars-Boba-Fett-Snowflake-/262162335249?nma=true&si=wyM1YxdtOGe4SFwnw6uBtUnCZUE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Printed-Game-of-Thrones-Xbox-One-Faceplate-/252024331176?nma=true&si=wyM1YxdtOGe4SFwnw6uBtUnCZUE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

      http://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Printed-Pokemon-Espeon-Figurine-/262193679540?nma=true&si=wyM1YxdtOGe4SFwnw6uBtUnCZUE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

  2. But the license does NOT ban profit by mi · · Score: 4, Informative
    As I type this, the license link on the product's page leads to the variant of the Creative Commons License, that explicitly allows commercial use:

    You are free to:
    Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
    Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
    The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

    What's the problem? Did the author pick wrong license by mistake — and will they apologize to the folks now harmed by eBay's overreaction?

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    1. Re:But the license does NOT ban profit by He+Who+Has+No+Name · · Score: 5, Informative

      Mixed in among the 2,000 odd items lifted by JustPrint3D - not just Sad Face! - were various forms of the CC license, including Non-Commercial. Beyond simply profiting, JustPrint3D wasn't providing compliant attribution on anything. It was a mess.

    2. Re:But the license does NOT ban profit by samkass · · Score: 5, Informative

      As I type this, the license link on the product's page leads to the variant of the Creative Commons License, that explicitly allows commercial use:


      You are free to:

              Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format

              Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

              The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

      What's the problem? Did the author pick wrong license by mistake — and will they apologize to the folks now harmed by eBay's overreaction?

      You forgot the "Under the Following Terms" bit, which is the whole point!

      Under the following terms:

      Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

      No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

      --
      E pluribus unum
    3. Re:But the license does NOT ban profit by Khyber · · Score: 4, Informative

      You must not understand CC. Since I happen to have various works licensed under it, let me explain it to you:

      If you don't attribute, you implicitly do not have permission. It's that simple.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    4. Re:But the license does NOT ban profit by mi · · Score: 2, Informative

      They could charge just for the printing service and require the consumer to download the files directly from thingaverse

      That's not necessary at all. According to clarifications from the submitter, for most items the problem was simply lack of attribution. So, if they just included the link to the originals and to the license in their eBay descriptions, they would've been in the clear for most items (including the one used by the submitter as an example).

      The work-around you are suggesting could have worked for the few less freely licensed items — but I'm not sure, actually... Because it may still be illegal for them to profit from the designs licensed that way.

      --
      In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
    5. Re:But the license does NOT ban profit by mysidia · · Score: 2

      They failed to give attribution and failed provide a link to the license. Can not say if they modified it at all or if they were clear that it was licensed under the same

      How do we know? Anything appearing on the eBay listings itself would likely be fair use in the engagement of sale of the work. Did somebody buy some of their objects?

      Since they're selling physical objects made from designs, they could stick an attribution and link in 6-point Arial as an adhesive label on some surface of the object, and that would be compliant.

      Or if the object is too small.... jewelry sized, they might inscribe the attribution using micro-print, in the manner that other jewelry is customarily inscribed.

  3. Re:"scrapes"? by Pseudonymous+Powers · · Score: 4, Informative

    "Scraping" refers to "copying the content off of some website". It is adapted from the older term "screen scraping", which is copying the data from someone else's visual presentation of this data. This usually implies that you don't have access to the underlying data in a more convenient form (such as files or a database or an API), so you have to reconstruct it from some source that either wasn't intended to promote the efficient transfer of the data or was actually designed to make that transfer as difficult as possible, for IP reasons.

  4. fits the pattern by frovingslosh · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Ebay only takes action against illegal things when there is bad press.

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
    1. Re:fits the pattern by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ebay only takes action against illegal things when there is bad press.

      That is a smart and effective policy. There is no competitive advantage in being ethical if nobody notices.

    2. Re:fits the pattern by rahvin112 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Said like a true sociopath!

    3. Re:fits the pattern by idontgno · · Score: 2

      Said like a true business leader!

      FTFY.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
    4. Re:fits the pattern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Said like a true business leader!

      FTFY.

      Not sure I'm seeing what was fixed there...

    5. Re:fits the pattern by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I have considered creating a small one in the past. Not too much paperwork, but the lawyer wanted paying.

      You do NOT need a lawyer to form a corporation. You can start a corporation on-line for about $200, in about 30 minutes. I own four: One California corp, one Nevada corp, one Delaware corp, and one company in the Cayman Islands. All except for the California corp are just private mailboxes, but they are still useful for shuffling money around to minimize taxes. Unless you make all your money on a W-2, you are foolish not to incorporate at least once.

      It is also nice to take a vacation to the Caribbean, and write it off on my taxes as a business expense. All I have to do is schedule a board meeting, with only myself as sole board member in attendance. I don't even need to rent a meeting room, since there is no law that the meeting can't be held on the beach.

    6. Re:fits the pattern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Do you have to publish the minutes?

      "I move that the board drink another Pina Colada....All in favour?"

  5. Pretty much a non-issue due to licensing. by kruug · · Score: 4, Informative

    This was also covered about a week ago on HackADay: http://hackaday.com/2016/02/22... "Most of the uploaded CAD models on Thingiverse are done under the Creative Commons license, which is pretty clear in its assertion that anyone can profit from the work. This would seem to put the eBay store owner in the clear for selling the work, but it should be noted that he’s not properly attributing the work to the original creator. " The only part that he's violating is that there's no attribution.

    1. Re:Pretty much a non-issue due to licensing. by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 2

      It's a violation none the less.

    2. Re:Pretty much a non-issue due to licensing. by Immerman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Without that attribution, there is no license. You're saying, essentially, that the stuff in the store is all there for people to take, and the only crime the shoplifter committed was not paying for them. Exactly. Without paying, you're not allowed to take.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    3. Re:Pretty much a non-issue due to licensing. by ArhcAngel · · Score: 2

      who cares? if slashdot thinks it's ok to copy and share movies and music, there is nothing wrong with this

      Au contraire mon ami

      You left out the part where the music is then burned to an optical disc and sold without a link to the torrent site you got it from. /. does NOT condone such activities! The link to the torrent site must be included.

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
  6. Caveat Emptor by Crashmarik · · Score: 2

    Sure the guy is a scumbag, but anyone buying from him deserves to be taken advantage of.

    People list things for far more than what they are worth all the time.

    I was looking to buy a Model A and look what I came across this

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-M...

    The rusted out body of a Model A for 18K+ when you can buy a beautiful fully restored working Model As for as little 16,000

    If you don't shop around expect to be taken advantage of.

  7. Re:"scrapes"? by HiChris! · · Score: 3

    Because the author/editor assumed on site that bills itself as "News for Nerds" that most users would be able to understand the lingo - and if not could use a search engine to find the answer.

  8. Re:"scrapes"? by Rockoon · · Score: 2

    that most users would be able to understand the lingo

    We do understand the lingo. Thats the problem. Its the author/editor that doesn't.

    --
    "His name was James Damore."
  9. Re:"scrapes"? by Stewie241 · · Score: 3, Informative

    IMO they are different things. Copying might mean that an employee of the shop downloaded designs from thingiverse and listed them for sale on ebay. Steals or infringes is pretty vague in terms of is actually happening.

    It seems reasonable for the author to assume that the audience of this site knows what scraping is, and it is a more precise word for what happened than copying, stealing or infringing. Scraping implies a scripted, automated effort with little human intervention past the point of building the script. There is no selection in terms of, 'hey, this looks neat - I'm going to sell those'; it is a complete replication of a catalogue without intervention.

  10. Better headlines please by no-body · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Actual: Ebay Shop Scrapes Thingiverse, Sells Designs In Violation of Creative Commons
    Q? who sells in violation? Ebay or Thingiverse...
    Correct: Ebay Shop Scrapes Thingiverse, Who Sells Designs In Violation of Creative Commons

    The other one yesterday:
    Actual: Mercedes-Benz Swaps Robots For People On Assembly Lines
    Q? Which way is it going people out or robots out
    Correct: Mercedes-Benz Removes Robots For People On Assembly Lines

    Or is this a new strategy Huffinghtonpost style - creating questions in headlines to make people look at content - new in the beginning but now sucks overall.

  11. Re:"scrapes"? by mysidia · · Score: 3, Informative

    Anti-trust laws in America prohibit a manufacturer or distributor from fixing prices.

    Anti-trust laws do not prevent the copyright owner from fixing prices, however, and they can.

    Occasionally copyright owners provide a distribution agreement where 99% or 100% of all profits go to the copyright owner, and the merchant/distributor is only allowed to resell according to the author's policies.

    Also, copyright owners occasionally provide gratis copies for special purposes --- for example, pre-release reviews or screeners. Just because there is no fee, does not mean the movie theaters that received these exclusive media can legally make and distribute copies.

  12. Re:"scrapes"? by KGIII · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hate to say this but it's true. Many, I dare say most, people aren't actually interested in learning. They're not interested in constructive dialogue. They're not interested in changing their minds when presented with new information. They aren't interested in honest debate. They're not interested in accepting that they're wrong and adjusting their beliefs accordingly. They're sure as hell not interested in improving themselves because improving themselves involves both work and admission that they're less than perfect.

    And, more on topic, scraping is a more specific type of copying. Being specific is a good thing. It means less confusion for those who actually understand the issues. Those who don't understand the issues probably don't have opinions of any value and can be discounted or ignored. Why they feel compelled, or perhaps entitled, to have a valued opinion is probably also a matter of ego - akin to needing to admin that they're not perfect in order to be willing to learn.

    --
    "So long and thanks for all the fish."