<h1>Not all museum pieces are out of copyright!</h1>
<p>Let's start with a general primer: an Artwork is out of copyright if it was made by someone that died more than about 70 years ago. For items created by companies a different rule applies.</p>
<p>When the copyright on an artwork lapses, anyone can reproduce it.</p>
<p>However, not all items in museums are out of copyright: Auguste Rodin died in 1917 and thus is <em>free game</em>, but Eva Hesse only died in 1970, so her works will only be out of copyright in 2040 or later!</p>
<h2>STLs are all under copyright!</h2>
<p>However, the STLs are <strong>not</strong> the artwork, they are a separate artwork that was made by someone that most likely is very much still alive - or at least are still in the protection period.</p>
<p>To use the STL you thus need to acquire a license <strong>from the author of the STL.</strong> Most freely available STLs are with a license that is &quot;Non commercial&quot; and bans commercial use, so you need to inquire about a commercial license.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-10T19:09:49.913Z
It may be easier to get permission on print artifacts if you have no intention of selling or distributing them; only for museum display.  Otherwise, how does one get access to the STL files in the first place.  Open source can have the stipulation that you can only distribute for free.
Perry Webb
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-02T09:43:37.897Z
2022-06-02T09:43:37.897Z
Trish
<p>Just read the license that comes with the STL. Most I have seen prohibit commercial use without permission.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>good places to find fully licensed models that we could sell without having to worry about copyright infringement.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Draw them yourself and there's no issues. Or buy the commercial licenses.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-02T00:10:13.213Z
2022-06-02T00:10:13.213Z
Kilisi
<p>I run a non-profit designed to expose high school students to 3D printing and entrepreneurship. The concept is based on pop-up shop-style sales of 3D printed trinkets, toys, artifacts, etc.</p>
<p>Can I legally sell models we print from the many open source and publicly available museum collections that are available on the internet? Example - a 3D scan of Rodin's &quot;The Thinker&quot; or the British Museum's publically available .stl of the Rosetta stone.</p>
<p>It is my understanding that these artifacts are in the public domain as they are much older than 1930 though the .stl scans may not be?</p>
<p>Keep in mind I am a fully licensed 501c3 non-profit organization.</p>
<p>Wondering if there are any good places to find fully licensed models that we could sell without having to worry about copyright infringement.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T18:17:05.087Z
This would probably be a better fit on [Law.SE](https://law.stackexchange.com/). You could ask about this on the [3D Meta.SE](https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/) and have one of the moderators migrate the question for you.
agarza
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T18:25:47.483Z
The artifacts are old, but the STL files are not. It would depend on the license of the STL file.
Mast
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T21:34:33.360Z
I believe that this is still a question about legality and not about having a printing problem, hence my suggestion about asking if this question is valid here on 3D.SE or should be moved to Law.SE.
agarza
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-01T21:49:57.327Z
We've had these questions before, could be they got moved to the Law.SE. [This answer](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/77965/does-selling-a-sculpture-based-on-a-copyrighted-painting-violate-that-paintings) may be interesting. So, while the object may not be copyrighted any more (70 years after the death of the artist), the file you want to print may. If you make your own scan, no problem.
0scar
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-10T19:04:12.160Z
FYI: https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/publications/aom/001-en.html
Perry Webb
<3d-models>
Commercial use? 3D scans of museum artifacts
Noah Lattanzi
# Commercial use? 3D scans of museum artifacts

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-06-01)

I run a non-profit designed to expose high school students to 3D printing and entrepreneurship. The concept is based on pop-up shop-style sales of 3D printed trinkets, toys, artifacts, etc.

Can I legally sell models we print from the many open source and publicly available museum collections that are available on the internet? Example - a 3D scan of Rodin's "The Thinker" or the British Museum's publically available .stl of the Rosetta stone.

It is my understanding that these artifacts are in the public domain as they are much older than 1930 though the .stl scans may not be?

Keep in mind I am a fully licensed 501c3 non-profit organization.

Wondering if there are any good places to find fully licensed models that we could sell without having to worry about copyright infringement.

**Tags:** 3d-models

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This would probably be a better fit on [Law.SE](https://law.stackexchange.com/). You could ask about this on the [3D Meta.SE](https://3dprinting.meta.stackexchange.com/) and have one of the moderators migrate the question for you.  
> **username_2**: The artifacts are old, but the STL files are not. It would depend on the license of the STL file.  
> **username_1**: I believe that this is still a question about legality and not about having a printing problem, hence my suggestion about asking if this question is valid here on 3D.SE or should be moved to Law.SE.  
> **username_3**: We've had these questions before, could be they got moved to the Law.SE. [This answer](https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/77965/does-selling-a-sculpture-based-on-a-copyrighted-painting-violate-that-paintings) may be interesting. So, while the object may not be copyrighted any more (70 years after the death of the artist), the file you want to print may. If you make your own scan, no problem.  
> **username_4**: FYI: https://www.csmc.uni-hamburg.de/publications/aom/001-en.html  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2022-06-02. Score: 2

# Not all museum pieces are out of copyright!

Let's start with a general primer: an Artwork is out of copyright if it was made by someone that died more than about 70 years ago. For items created by companies a different rule applies.

When the copyright on an artwork lapses, anyone can reproduce it.

However, not all items in museums are out of copyright: Auguste Rodin died in 1917 and thus is *free game*, but Eva Hesse only died in 1970, so her works will only be out of copyright in 2040 or later!

## STLs are all under copyright!

However, the STLs are **not** the artwork, they are a separate artwork that was made by someone that most likely is very much still alive - or at least are still in the protection period.

To use the STL you thus need to acquire a license **from the author of the STL.** Most freely available STLs are with a license that is "Non commercial" and bans commercial use, so you need to inquire about a commercial license.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: It may be easier to get permission on print artifacts if you have no intention of selling or distributing them; only for museum display.  Otherwise, how does one get access to the STL files in the first place.  Open source can have the stipulation that you can only distribute for free.  

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### Answer by username_6 on 2022-06-02. Score: 1

Just read the license that comes with the STL. Most I have seen prohibit commercial use without permission.

> good places to find fully licensed models that we could sell without having to worry about copyright infringement.

Draw them yourself and there's no issues. Or buy the commercial licenses.


---

