Copyright
Are 3D models copyrighted? What US and UK law says
Updated
Whether a library can be licensed starts with whether the law protects the models in it. We read 9 provisions of US and UK copyright law and guidance and quote each below.
Ask about my 3D models 3 of the 16 platforms we read can already train on what users put in. Tell us where your models live and we will write back about your library.
In the US, three-dimensional works are named in the statute
Copyright subsists in original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium, including pictorial, graphic and sculptural works (17 U.S.C. 102). The definitions in section 101 say those include two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of fine, graphic and applied art, and models.
Source: 17 U.S. Code section 101
A model of a useful article is protected only in part
Section 101 says the design of a useful article counts only to the extent its sculptural features can be identified separately from, and exist independently of, its utilitarian aspects.
Source: 17 U.S. Code section 101
In the UK, the author or the employer owns it first
The author is the person who creates the work (section 9), and the author is the first owner unless an employee made it in the course of employment (section 11). For a computer-generated work the author is the person who made the arrangements for its creation.
Training AI on models is not settled by either law
The US Copyright Office expects "that some uses of copyrighted works for generative AI training will qualify as fair use, and some will not." In the UK the text and data analysis exception in section 29A covers copies made for research for a non-commercial purpose only, and the government's consultation on AI and copyright says the widespread use of copyright material for training AI models has presented new challenges.