Piracy and file leakage in 3D printing

We know that piracy is not something new. Whether in movies, games, software or music, markets suffer from this illicit practice, which often makes people give up on a life project. 3D printing is no different. The term “file leak” is already common in the community.

Before we go any further, know that this post is not a “sermon”, nor is it a judgment of that attitude. Our intention is to try to make you aware, since we believe that many participate in this naively, not knowing the damage they are actually causing to the market.

That said, let’s go!

Nowadays, there are several websites that provide free templates on the internet legally. In these cases, the artists model and, for personal reasons, decide to provide the final file to the community. The problem is when this happens without the modeler’s consent.

Think of something you really love to do. If there is the possibility of generating income with this activity, surely you would like to make a living from it. And any task we can do, as much as we love it, will always take our time. In addition, each country has its reality and we know that money is necessary for us to live. This means that we also need to make money!

We at CO3D feel responsible for talking about it.

Today’s Context: Unauthorized Groups and Shares

Some people have formed and fostered groups on all types of social networks in order to share files acquired on the most different sites for 3D printing, as well as make collective purchases of files without the modeler’s consent.

Modelers have often asked us about these attitudes. Many end up abandoning 3D printing and returning to their traditional jobs. We (makers) are the ones who lose the most…

Some people may question if it is not possible to do something, like close the files somehow, ask for more data at the time of purchase to know exactly who the buyer is who would be doing something unauthorized with the file… Our answer is:

There are some ways to do this, but they would make the purchase so bureaucratic that it would alienate even well-meaning buyers and would not have good anti-piracy effectiveness. Furthermore, this is not the way that CO3D believes to be the best way to deal with this situation.

We believe in people. Therefore, we are proposing a change of mindset! We want to raise awareness of the market, showing how such actions, which may seem small at first glance, impact the work dynamics of both those who model and those who print.

At CO3D, we see a growing devaluation of digital products. Although there is physical piracy (such as copied movie discs, etc.), piracy of digital items is stronger, perhaps because someone got it for free and you feel entitled to do the same. You might even feel disadvantaged by having to pay for something someone else got for free, even if through questionable means.

So how does this affect work in the 3D market?

The impact of piracy: a chain reaction in the 3D market

The piracy of 3D files discourages the work of professionals in a number of ways and that’s a fact!

There are cases in which people stop participating in a fundraising campaign, because they believe that, soon, that file will be made available for free in unauthorized groups. This makes the model not earn enough, the modeler does not provide the files and everyone loses.

We don’t know if this happened to you, but consider the following scenario: after a discussion between the child and the parents, the child says: “but so-and-so did this” or “so-and-so can that”… The classic response from parents is: “but you’re not so-and-so”. Sometimes it takes us a while to assimilate this, but it’s true… You are you. What the other does, concerns him. You don’t have to do something just because someone else is doing it. This is where our conscience and our coherence come in. Who are you in the midst of it all? Or, who do you want to be?

So, let’s see this example:

You want a model to produce a statue for sale. Your customer will buy and, of course, will pay you for it. If the file you want is paid, wouldn’t it be fair to honor the work of the one who gave you the sale? Put yourself in the shoes of the modeler, who lives by selling these files.

This also works for when we are making a statue for ourselves.

Sometimes we want to do all the build steps. It turns out that, as much as we have skills in all areas, we need to know when to outsource.

If you don’t have the skill (or little) to model your characters, you’ll need to hire the service of a specialized artist. In the same way, if you don’t have the ability to manufacture a resin or a filament to print your statue, you buy it from someone who knows how to make it. Thus, you save your work and focus on what you have more expertise.

Even buying the file to print a statue for your collection, you still save, because if you were buying the statue from the big studios, the final value would be much higher than what you spent producing.

At this point, some may question the value of a file, but we would like to remind you that CO3D tools are available exactly to make this cost viable without harming the modeler.

Therefore, it is very important that we know the origin of the file we are buying, who the modeler is and how we can help.

Let’s invest in what benefits everyone, not only in 3D printing, but in life! You need to believe in what you do.

People will buy from you, but you need to believe that this selling market is fair, that is, buying from other people, just as you are also selling. Keep the work flowing, let the whole thing happen!

And to close…

It is common to hear around: “Let’s value national modelers! They need help, but gringo files we can share”. National modelers are grateful, but perhaps those who say this have not thought about the reality of people around the world…

Even because, here, we are talking about the whole world, so we are talking about countries that may have up to an HDI smaller than ours. If you already think that it is not fair to do this to your friends, you are already on the way to thinking about the human being, the next, regardless of their origin or their reality.

There are also those who criticize the lack of copyright on some characters, with phrases like “he can’t sell this without the company’s rights” and put it as a reason to give it away for free.

• The first point we would like to make here is: if he had the rights, wouldn’t you be doing the same thing?
• Second: if he gets all the rights, would you buy the file (knowing that it would possibly cost even more)?
• Third: are you really sure he doesn’t have these rights? 

Finally, if this were really a justification, why does the illegal sharing of the artist’s copyright files still happen?

Once again, we are not here to judge such attitudes, but to make our market aware, so that you understand what happens and ask yourself if it makes sense to you. And so, we will be able to unite to build a fairer and more conscious community, one step at a time!

No one is free from having done something without conscience or that they are not proud of in life. It’s all about experience and learning! But from the moment you become aware of your own actions and their impacts, you become responsible for changing your reality! So, it’s up to you to move forward with the same attitudes or not.