I know it’s not a new problem, but I don’t know what I can or should do…
I’m made a design that I shared for free on thingiverse under a Creative commons, attributions, non-commercial license.
I’ve been made aware today that two etsy sellers are using my design, they didn’t ask me and they don’t attribute me. I don’t particularly mind that people print and sell my design (I understand the added value of it already being printed for the user) , but I feel it is unfair to buyers to not be made aware that the design is free and they could easily get it printed cheaper elsewhere (design is small, it’s like half a dollar worth of plastic).
It would also have been nice to send me a share of the profit made from my design…
What can I do or should I do ?
My mother lost her shop because she was selling charms (on bracelets she made) that had copyrighted/trademarked designs that she bought from China. She didn’t produce the actual infringing part, just partnered it with her own stuff. She still lost her shop after a few strikes.
I assure you that Etsy is serious about that, but it takes a few reports to actually shut the shop down. If nobody else is reporting them, it could take forever.
Go ahead and report them. If they’re really bad about this, they’ll lose their shop immediately. Otherwise, it’s a very strong warning.
Edit: Also, if you really don’t mind them printing it, but want credit, release it under an appropriate license that states that. Otherwise, you’re only helping unethical people and preventing ethical people from doing it.