Can you sell 3D prints of BSD designs?
Selling prints: unclear, ask the designer
BSD licences are permissive and generally allow commercial use, but they were written for code.
A plain-English summary of the BSD License, not legal advice. Read the official licence text.
A short permissive software licence. Keep the copyright notice and don't use the author's name to promote your product. Seen on: Thingiverse, Printables.
What BSD lets you do, requires and forbids
Lets you
- Commercial use, generally
- Modification and redistribution
Requires
- Keep the copyright notice and licence text with redistributed files
Forbids
- Using the designer's name to endorse your product (3-clause BSD)
Remixes and changes
Allowed.
BSD designs MeshNomics is tracking
1 of the top 50 scored designs on the MeshNomics index use BSD. Licence as recorded from the source; re-check the source page before you sell.
- DJI Inspired (3D Printable Quad / Multirotor) Upgrades by QuadFramesUKscore 69
What the licence doesn't cover
- Characters, logos and brands. A designer can only license rights they own.
- Marketplace rules. Etsy requires items made with 3D printers, lasers or CNC machines to be based on your own original design, even with a commercial licence. eBay, your own store and local markets have their own rules.
- Product safety. A licence says nothing about whether a part is food-safe, child-safe or load-bearing.
Questions
- Is a BSD model safe to sell?
- It's generally permitted, but software licences fit physical products awkwardly. Message the designer if the product matters to you.
Find designs you're allowed to sell
MeshNomics stores a normalised licence and a commercial-use flag for every indexed design, so you can filter to sellable designs and sort by demand. See plans, read the full guide to selling Thingiverse, Printables and MakerWorld prints, or browse niches.