3D Model download site Thingiverse has made a dramatic change in its licensing terms. As most startups tend to do, the initial version of legal terms are typically cobbled together from other sources. MakerBot Chief Bre Pettis writes:I went and looked at Blip.tv’s and Etsy’s and Youtube’s and I basically copied them and changed the names to MakerBot. This made the document sound very official. Laywers the world over are shaking their head scornfully in my direction upon hearing this, I’m sure. Thankfully, I copied the part that says that we can change the terms of use or we’d be stuck with those terms!
But now Thingiverse is a big deal and deserves more finely tuned legalities. The new terms emphasize personal and open use of models by changing the terms of use and focusing directly on standard Creative Commons licenses. They’ve also updated their privacy and intellectual property policies to handle issues they’ve had in the past.
This should make use of Thingiverse easier, since the reduction in “All Rights Reserved” licenses permits more direct and easy use of “things”.
Via Thingiverse
