Looking towards the 3D future…
If you read this blog, I think you would be interested in joining a new Google Group for discussing emerging 3D design marketplaces.1 It was started a few days ago by the illustrious 3D designer and artist Emmett Lalish to start a dialog about designing in the brave new world of digital things.
I generally share my 3D designs freely on Thingiverse. Some designs I don’t care much about, I share them in case someone else might fight them interesting or useful. Some I don’t have much of a right to – a very slight variation / derivative of someone else’s work or a derivative of a work that walks the fine line that is “fair use” such as my OpenSCAD Voltron. Some of my designs are things which I think I might be able to turn into something I could sell or be the start of a little business.
And some of my designs I want to share and am particularly proud of – such as my sushi set, pirate ship, and the printed parts for my PlotterBot. For these very few designs, I choose a “non-commercial” license. I’m so proud of these designs that I want to share them, and yet I feel that my creativity and hard work merits reward – especially if someone makes a profit off of them.