BY-NC licence: non-commercial use of a 3D model

What the licence says

The official text of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 licence allows a work to be copied, shared and adapted, but not for commercial purposes and only with credit to the author. It is one of the Creative Commons licences and is very common on Printables and Thingiverse.

The word "non-commercial" is not defined precisely, so interpretation can vary. The licence speaks of use that is primarily directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation. The boundaries are unclear and in disputed cases it is safer to ask the author.

What is and is not commercial use

• Usually fine. Printing for yourself, as a gift for family, for school or for a hobby without profit.
• Commercial. Selling printed pieces, an item with a company logo, gifts for customers, a job for a client or a part of a product that is sold.
• Borderline. Non-profits and schools, what matters is whether profit is the aim. When in doubt, ask the author.

An invoice to a company for the printing changes nothing: if the item is used by a business, it is commercial use.

What to do if you need the model

Write to the author, some authors offer a commercial licence. Or look for a similar model with a licence that allows commercial use (for example CC BY). Or prepare your own model, then you need nothing.

We do not check the licences of downloaded models and the responsibility is yours.

If the author gets back to you, they will usually offer a commercial licence with terms and a price. Keep the reply, so you can prove you have permission.

How this relates to an order

When you upload a model to the calculator, the responsibility is still yours. We print it and you receive it, but the right to use it is set by the author. This applies above all to promotional items, corporate gifts, magnets and keychains.