Hi,
Something interesting on sketchfab.com is happening. From search result disappeared almost all Ferrari cars. People with 3 or more cars of this producer got blocked accounts. Porsche, BMW etc. are available as always.
I got DMCA claims for my two models. Is there a way to findout, who is sending claims?
probably lawyers from Ferrari itself, or representing them. not all car manufacturers are as free with their ipâs as others.
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They cured me of my love for Ferrari. I will never buy one again (in Forza Horizon LOL).
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Agreed. Ferrari heavily protects their IP/branding.
Thatâs what actually made Ferrari execsâ heads pop about the Purrari â Deadmau5 modified the Ferrari logo itself on the supercar.
Ferrari might be run by stuck-up pricks, but from a legal standpoint, they really didnât have a choice but to go after Deadmau5 for the âPURRARIâ insignia, else they might have legal IP nightmares later. Because if they donât aggressively protect their copyright, future (and more straightforwardly reasonable) lawsuits might not go their way. And little sucks more than losing control of your IP.
This same reasoning factors in to our modern world of photorealistic car modeling â hence all the 3D models getting DMCAed.
Now a car like a Ferrari is not usually a background item, but for all the random stuff you might need in the background, the industry actually has a common method for obscuring the brand, called âgreekingâ. Hereâs Scott Reeder explaining it:
Anytime you are notified that a DMCA claim has been made against you, you should immediately contact the notifier. In your case @bread_eater you should contact Sketchfab. They will provide you with more information, including a way to dispute the claim, should you wish. (You will fail in this case, though.)
I donât actually use Sketchfab, but there should be a way to access information about DMCA claims through your user account or the item listing itself. But if not, just contact Sketchfab support directly.
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So if I will reupload my models under âitalianoâ brand, will they claim me again?
No details about âwho and for whatâ on my sketchfab-account.
I have wrotten to support and theyâve wrote that âThe complaint was filed by Amazon Web Services on behalf of Ferrari S.p.A.â and instruciton how to make counter-notice.
Isnât that clear from the response? It was filed on behalf of Ferrari.
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I only wrote that there was no information in the account panel. The support response sent by e-mail clearly states who sent the claims.
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Oh I see, thanks.
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Probably â theyâre still Ferrari models, whether they say so on the tin or not. (Especially as Ferrari now knows that the models exist.) It isnât just the little metal horse badge they stick on the car, it is the shape and flow of the car design itself that is their intellectual property.
You can create a nice sport car model that is similar to a Ferrari in shape and design, and upload that with your own âitalianoâ branding and they canât touch that. But if all you do is tweak a few curves and change the headlamps and the label then it is still just a customized Ferrari.
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If I am not mistaken you can not legally sell any model of a copyrighted design for commercial use. It does not only apply to Ferrari (or cars) it could be anything.
You might be able to âget away with itâ (obviously many) do, but one day someone could sue you, or the site that allows/sells it.
Normally there would be a warning first, to take down the model.
It has been said before, this site is not the right place to get the answers, you may need a good lawyer!
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Youâre correct on all points; you legally canât sell copyrighted models, a lot of people do anyway with no issues, and this site isnât a place to get legal advice 
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I donât think anyone in this thread has asked for legal advice (or offered any!), soâŚ
It is well-known in comic art circles that creating artwork of, say, Batman, is an IP infringement â even if you do not intend to sell it. DC (as per our example) isnât particularly interested in alienating all its fanboys and fangirls, so they let people get away with a lot of that, recognizing that it is good user engagement. But theyâll still sue the snot out of you if you try to do something that costs them money or modifies peoples perception of their IP.
âŚso you could get a good lawyer. But, being a good lawyer, heâll tell you plainly that you would be throwing your money away trying to defeat any suit against you for violating someone elseâs IP rights.
Now that weâre past that: here is some actual âlegalâ advice (from non-lawyer me):
- Donât bother with a lawyer. Just take down your models and accept that you were in the wrong to have them up in the first place. Sorry.
Related story that everyone here should know about: the Stage 9 Enterprise 1701-D VR recreation for Unreal Engine was a two-year project that Paramount mostly ignored â until someone bought exclusive rights to create their own Enterprise D for a video game. After that it was game over for Stage 9.
It was cool. Walking through you realize just how massive this fictional space ship really is, and how little of it we ever really saw on the show. YouTube walkthroughs still exist, like this one:
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I didnât sell it, also most of deleted cars from other users wasnât for sell or free download.
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Thanks for advice. Do you can say something about selling items under Editorial-licence? It is something that really works, which is really described in law?
@bartv I am not sure, but are you owner of Sketchfab? If yes, it is good idea to warning this account Ferrari Italia - Buy Royalty Free 3D model by KMG 3D (@KMG3D) [70c755a] - Sketchfab Store about situation. They have a several F-cars and they may be blocked for DMCA. They blocked comments so I canât write to them.
OK, Iâve asked support.
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It has been discussed a dozen of times in these forums. If you create derivative work out of copyrighted IP if it counts as infridgement or if is allowed etc.
More or less, this how the story goes in the end⌠