Are the designs on this website copyrighted?

YES.

All models featured on this website are protected under Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike.)

In layman's terms, that means you are free to print and modify our designs, provided you:

• Do not use them for commercial purposes, i.e, do not sell them for monetary compensation.
• Provide appropriate credit, i.e, include the name of the original artist(s), list the copyright status, and where possible, a link back to the original version.
• Indicate if changes were made i.e, if remixing, you must note what parts you changed.
• Any derivative works are subject to the same license, i.e, if you remix a figure, it is automatically subject to the same BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and cannot be sold or used for commercial purposes.
  

Can I sell figures/props based off these designs?

NO.

Well... usually no. See below for some limited exceptions in which we are okay with money exchanging hands, but in general, if you are attempting to make a profit off these templates and you have not received special permission from the artist(s) who created them to do so, you are breaking the project rules, so DON'T DO IT!

Is it okay if I print figures for my friends? Can I ask for money to cover materials/shipping?

Yes... within reason.

We know that a great number of fans don't own printers and rely on friends or print-to-order services to print items for their collections, both of which are okay, since we're usually talking about single quantity requests for personal use, and nothing that's likely to get anyone in trouble with the BBC. If money exchanges hands in this capacity for materials/labor/shipping, that's acceptable... as long as you aren't out there advertising that you provide this as an ongoing service.

Basically, what I DON'T want to see is:

• Anyone actively drumming up business for themselves by posting that you are "taking orders" for items featured on this website.
  
  
• Showing our designs in any sort of available product list, example page, or storefront.
  
  
• Asking other people if they would be "interested" in having figures printed, or otherwise "trolling for business" by saying "Give me money and I'll print this for you."
  
  
• Printing out copies of our designs "on spec" for the purpose of selling them on later or putting them up for sale in a storefront like eBay, Etsy, or the Facebook marketplace. (This includes the old "I'm going to make three, and then sell two of them on to recoup my expenses" trick.)
  

Do use common sense when deciding who you are going to print for.

If somebody asks you to make two or more of something... ask some follow-up questions, because if that person immediately goes and posts the other one on eBay, that will attract just as much negative attention as if you'd sold the items on there yourself.

What about printing for raffle prizes, charity auctions, etc?

That's a bit more of a grey area. I don't strictly have a problem with it, but it mainly depends on how many figures, and how the money is being collected. Don't post figures on eBay or anywhere else public and then say, "Oh, it's cool, I'm going to donate the proceeds to charity." since I have no way of verifying that this is true, and neither does the BBC.

If you aren't sure, please message me on Facebook. And remember, if you auction something off or give it to a stranger, they may not be aware of our rules about not selling it on later for profit.

Can I organize a "Group Buy" where a bunch of us pool our money to create a small commercially printed run of your figures?

Please message me on Facebook before doing this. If you are simply getting a few other people together to all print figures through the same print-to-order service at the same time to save money, and nobody (other than the printing service) is making any commission or profit from the enterprise, then.... maybe. I'm usually okay with this as long as you keep all transactions completely private and aren't out actively trolling for sign-ups or posting prices or preorder lists on the internet where everyone can see them.

If you're thinking more along the lines of a Kickstarter project like the one that was done recently for The Prisoner, or contracting out with some factory or printer farm in China, absolutely not.

Can I modify your designs to create custom figures of my own?

Yes, as long as you provide fair attribution and are not going to turn around and immediately sell that figure or part for profit.

As mentioned above, all our designs are protected under a BY-NC-SA 4.0 Creative Commons license that states it's okay for others to remix, tweak, and build upon our work, provided you do so non-commercially, credit the original artist(s), and your work includes the same CC license.

There are grey areas about how much a design has to change before it becomes something completely different, but basically... if I can see that you've simply taken one of our designs and added a few extra bits to it (either modifying the digital model itself or by printing the product and then physically sculpting around it or giving it a different paint job), you're still going to get in trouble if we catch you selling it.

Can I use your model in my fan film, missing episode reconstruction, comic book, YouTube video, puppet show, etc?

Absolutely! It would be nice if you added a credit or footnote linking back to the artist and the project, but feel free to use these figures or the 3D models themselves in any creative way you see fit.

Note that these figures are designed specifically for printing and are not rigged for computer animation. You'd have to modify them pretty heavily if you intend to use them for that purpose.

I run a home printing business and somebody wants me to print a figure for them. Can I do it and still charge them?

Yes. I realize that not everyone has a 3D printer of their own and that some of them will use print-to-order services that charge a fee and make a profit from these services. That is fine under the following conditions:

• It's not a job lot intended for resale. (If somebody asks you to print 25 Quarks, you can bet they are planning on reselling them, and while I can't stop you from doing so, know that it will probably spell the death of this project if word gets out.)
  
  
• You aren't printing the figures yourself "on spec" and then encouraging people to buy them from you. (That's just selling, even if you also provide print-to-order services.)
  
  
• You aren't printing figures and then displaying them on your website/Facebook/storefront/shop window etc. for the purpose of attracting customers and letting them know that they can go through you to have these items printed.
  
  
• You don't post the figure or designs on a print-to-order website like Shapeways, where people can see a photo or listing for the item and then add it to their cart or contact you to have it printed.
  
  
• You aren't going around advertising your services as somebody who will print people Doctor Who figures for a price.

Note that some of my earlier designs, like the TARDIS Consoles, Wirrn, and Servo Robot, are based off of 3D models that the original designers have for sale on TurboSquid, Shapeways, and possibly a few other places. They designed those unarticulated versions, so they can do what they want with them, but unless you've specifically talked to the creator and got permission to reproduce them, assume that any of my designs, guest designs or remixes you find on this webpage are not to be reproduced for profit.

I run a home custom figure/model making business. Can I charge money for printing/painting/customizing one of your figures?

Possibly.... It depends how aggressively you're promoting your customizing services. As with the home printing business scenario above, I'm probably going to be okay with it as long as:

• You are only doing the occasional one or two-offs that you've arranged privately with a buyer.
  These items should not appear "for sale" anywhere on the internet, and you shouldn't be out "trolling for business" using these designs as an example of products you provide.
  
  
• You aren't printing out multiple copies of these designs and then encouraging people to buy them or similar items from you. i.e. "I've made three of these Krotons and the other two are now available." (That's still selling.)
  
  
• You aren't using our 3D printed figures to create inverse molds and then selling resin cast versions of the same or slightly modified figures. (The design is still copyrighted, even if you try to get fancy and make it out of a different substance or at a different scale.)
  
  
• If you post photos/videos of finished or in-progress figures, there should be no mention of item prices, quantities you have available, sign-up/wait lists to have more made, or any other language indicating (wink-wink, nudge-nudge) that people should come to you if they want to purchase another similarly crafted item.
  

If I or the other artists feel that you are abusing our designs in order to promote your home business, rather than simply showing off your artistic skills, then I will absolutely be telling you to stop. If there's any question about whether what you are planning to do will break the project rules, please message me on Facebook before proceeding.

Why do you care so much if I sell figures based off your designs?

Given some extremely unofficial conversations over the past few years, I feel like I'm at least tolerated by the brass at Character Options, and they are okay with this project continuing, given the self-imposed limitations we have implemented.

The BBC and Disney, however, have their own completely separate set of lawyers, who have been known to get downright draconian (or maybe that should be Ogronish) with their take-down notices... like targeting people making crocheted Ood hats and other obviously completely unofficial Doctor Who merch on eBay and Etsy. I understand from friends in the "biz" that the BBC are aware of this project, and I do not wish to antagonize them or give them any excuse to send me a cease and desist notice.

Copyright law is a tricky thing, especially when applied to 3D printing since it's replicable and can be considered manufacturing. While selling originally created props/models/artwork does have some legal protection, I'd rather not get into a costly legal battle with an organization I greatly admire. Which is why everything we produce is classified under Creative Commons license CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 as being for non-commercial use only.

Additionally, selling these figures is a genie that can never be put back in its bottle.

You may think it's no big deal if somebody puts a couple of custom figures they printed up on eBay, but really good professional-quality customs frequently sell for quite a bit of money. And once someone sees somebody else selling a figure for £50, £60, or even £100 that they can print at home for under £7, they may decide to give it a go themselves. Then the next person comes along and is even more unscrupulous and decides to market one of these figures as an unreleased Character Options prototype (which are resin printed and look very similar to my own work), raking in hundreds of pounds in profits, and it just keeps snowballing from there.

Selling bootleg Doctor Who figures will probably get YOU in trouble with the Beeb before they set their sights on me, but still... that's a can of worms I do not want to see opened.

The best way to avoid any unpleasantness and keep this a fun friendly educational project that everyone can enjoy for years to come is to just respect our wishes as creators and not be the jerk who ruins the party for everyone else.