Free file from 3D model club

[CLyon]

I'm not sure that the discussion is over yet. As one who attends fairly closely to copyright and intellectual property issues, I'm nervous. I try to differentiate clearly among artwork I have rights to, art with no copyright, and that which belongs to someone - so that I may only use it for my own pleasure, not for sale.

It appears that the 3d people have done some due diligence, but with additional information additional review is clearly indicated. The argument that there are slight differences between the (apparently) original photo and theirs is thin. Better would be to find the original source and demonstrate conclusively that there are no conflicts, no rights abused.

I think a lot of this discussion hinges on the standards we set for art providers. I expect them to make efforts to ensure that the art they sell me is theirs to sell. Copyright searches, and proving the origin/ownership/status of an item is not a trivial issue. Crazy claims of ownership are made. I do not expect perfection, but an honest effort. I would not rule out using more of their art if this issue works out well.

I would suggest that the 3d folk remove the horse in question from their free offerings, and sale site until assurance can be offered that they own it. I have downloaded this horse, and have placed it in my "not for sale" files - where it will stay until released from questionable status. It will have lots of company there with files containing trademarked logos, Picasso, Miro and others for which I do not have ownership or rights.

It is good to be part of a community that puts so much effort into finding the right thing to do. I will watch with interest.

[Rcnewcomb]

In my opinion the best outcome would be a collaboration between Bob Langrish and 3D Model Club. Bob has taken many beautiful pictures and, as the model under discussion shows, the 3D Modelers can do a marvelous job of rendering an image into a 3D design.

If I can have a happy customer ...
.because I made a carving that I sold for a profit,
..because 3D Model Club had the design available,
...because they licensed use of an original image taken by Bob Langrish ...
then everyone wins.

Let's hope for a win-win outcome on this.

[Thkoutsidthebox]

I'm staying on the fence for the moment on this.

I think Randalls ideas above is probably the best. 3DMC should contact the photo artist, sort it out amongst themselves, and let us know what happened.

[3dmodelclub]

We take this matter seriously so we now have removed the model from our site. I would like to ask all people who downloaded the model to please delete it from your computers.

If anyone on the forum has any suggestions or reccomendation how you check if artwork supplied by a customer is the legal owner of the copyright or not, and what steps you take to protect yourself?

Thanks,

Greg

[harlingrandopolis]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Ru ... h&aq=f&oq=

[3dmodelclub]

Just a quick note,

I have contacted Bob about this issue and some other suggestions. I will let you know what is his reply.

Thanks

Greg

[Burchtree]

In my opinion the website that has the picture ( wallpaper sized image ) available for download is at fault Unless they have purchased the image and the owner knew it would become available online for free. In that case we are free to use the image as we see fit. The only hope we have of stopping the problem of copyrighted material to go after the source.
Dan

[Turtle49]

If anyone on the forum has any suggestions or recommendation how you check if artwork supplied by a customer is the legal owner of the copyright or not, and what steps you take to protect yourself?

Thanks,
Greg

I would think that due diligence would be to require the customer who comes to you with the image to sign an agreement that states the image is theirs and that they have the authority to have you use it. In addition to that I would think you would want to take a few minutes to do a keyword web search to see if anything popped up.

The most important thing is for you to do exactly what you did, remove the file as soon as the infringement is identified.

I think it speaks volumes about you that you are contacting the photographer in this situation. I certainly hope that you can work out an agreement.

Tim

[TReischl]

Gentlemen, Ladies,

A) It would be improper to condemn all models produced by 3DModel club because of this issue.
B) This issue is best resolved by the parties involved, namely, the photographer and 3D Model Club.
C) Discussing this like a bunch of "Sea Lawyers" is ludicrous.
D) I have not been asked to sit on a jury to decide if this particular model was in fact derived from the photo, so I will keep my opinions to myself.

As for myself, since there is a question concerning who owns the rights to this particular piece of artwork, I will not cut it, thus keeping myself out of any future legal entanglements.

Everyone will be happy to know that when they post something they created that is obviously original, I do not instantly copy it to my hard drive in the hopes of someday profiting from their creativity. If I do see something I would like to make, even if it is a one off for myself, I always ask permission first. I do not believe that making a copy of something for "just your own use" is ok.

Anyone read the notice on DVD's lately? Even if you do not profit from making a copy, it is STILL ILLEGAL. By making a copy for yourself, you have stolen someone else's art work for your own use, it is as simple as that. You can argue until you are blue in the face, but you are still a thief. Ask permission if you don't want to be a thief.

Don't believe it? Try walking into Borders Bookstore and see if they will let you make a copy of a magazine, "Just for your own personal use" without paying for it.

[Adrian]

and E) is the support forum of an unrelated company the correct place to be discussing legal issues in the first place.

[3dmodelclub]

I agree with you Adrian. This has absolutely nothing to do with vectric, aspire and so on. I am thankful the vectric team didnt complain about all the irrelevant threads on a software support forum. Ideally this should have been addresses with 3DMC directly instead of having all this talk on here. It wasn't our choice but we had to voice our concerns. Anyway thats how things go i guess, we live in a open world.

Greg

[Rcnewcomb]

Greg/3D Model Club,

I am pleased with how you have handled the matter.

[cabnet636]

i too feel 3d model is handleing this well.

jim mcgrew

[BrianM]

and E) is the support forum of an unrelated company the correct place to be discussing legal issues in the first place.

I agree with you Adrian. This has absolutely nothing to do with vectric, aspire and so on. I am thankful the vectric team didnt complain about all the irrelevant threads on a software support forum. Ideally this should have been addresses with 3DMC directly instead of having all this talk on here. It wasn't our choice but we had to voice our concerns. Anyway thats how things go i guess, we live in a open world.

Greg

We agree with both the above sentiments so we are locking this thread

Brian