Do users retain rights to their uploaded work?
I was hoping someone could clear this up for me. I've glanced over the various info and can't seem to find a definitive answer, though it may be hiding in plain sight! When a user uploads a model, documents, etc, that aren't based on others work and is completely their own, does that user retain their rights to that info? IE if I don't give commercial permission and only allow for personal use will that stand or can GrabCAD override that somehow?
Accepted answer
Hello Ben,
I think that the maintenance of intellectual property in the context of GrabCAD is possible only in theory, because in reality it depends on something impossible to control: the intention of the users who download and use said work.
So far, it is clearly proven that many (too many) GrabCAD users act like thieves and that GrabCAD cannot do anything about it (except in cases where they post it on the GC itself and someone reports it). That is, if someone downloads your work and uses it as their own in another context, it will be very difficult for you to discover it and for other people to realize that it is a stolen work.
Such is the impunity with which many people and internet sites operate, that they blatantly steal free GC models and put them up for sale!
In short, on a free and open site like GC, anything you upload can be stolen, modified and used without your permission by anyone and even displayed on other 3D modeling sites without being given any intellectual credit. It is unfortunate but real, like everything that depends on "will, ethics and any other value" that cannot be effectively demanded but only expected.
Kind regards
1 Other answer
While GrabCAD has some general guidelines regarding how models may be used. (No commercial use. No usage without credit.) They basically seem to apply to the GrabCAD website by itself. There is no legal mechanism to force their guidelines to apply elsewhere. There is apparently no implied copyright or creative commons licensing in effect. GrabCAD management enforces the usage guidelines on the GrabCAD website when specifically asked to do so. If you find your model posted on another website, GrabCAD asks you to report it to them but they also suggest you deal with the offending website yourself too. Leads me to believe you're pretty much on your own. I know GrabCAD has gone after offending websites that have stolen the work of multiple accounts. But I doubt they're going after individual offenses.
For the most part it appears you give up most all real legal rights to your model when you upload it.
In the end, legal rights or not, you should never post content you aren't willing to give away or have stolen. Unless you have some big money to go after the offenders, there is no real mechanism anywhere on the web to prevent theft. It can and will happen.
[edit] While GrabCADs guidelines specify no commercial use and require attribution when using content, they do not have any mechanism by which you can assign additional limits on how your model may be used. It's their default guidelines only. No more. No less.
