This is not legal advice!

Photogrammetry – creating 3D models from photographs – is a powerful tool for digitizing real-world objects. Whether you’re a hobbyist, educator, artist, or business, it’s important to understand how to use it in good faith which means respecting results of someone’s work – intellectual property (IP) rights. 

Scanning an object can legally amount to copying it, so it’s important to know when it could violate copyright, design rights, patents, or trademarks.

This is not legal advice! IP rights legislation greatly differs in various countries. The below describes general principles and real-world examples to give you basic understanding. If you are not sure please consult local lawyer.

What’s Generally Allowed:

1. Scanning Your Own Creations

If you made the object, you own the rights. Scan and share as you please.

Example: An artist scans their own clay sculpture to use in a digital installation.

2. Public Domain Objects

Objects with expired copyright or design rights (like classical statues) can be freely scanned and used.

Example: Seated Figure of Voltaire 

3. Functional Objects Without Creative Design

Basic mechanical parts or plain objects not protected by design rights are generally safe to scan.

Example: Scanning a generic metal bolt or wrench for CAD modeling practice.

4. Private Use

Scanning an object for personal, non-commercial use is usually low-risk. Just don’t upload or sell it.

Example: A hobbyist scans a collectible action figure to test 3D software but keeps it on their local drive.

5. With Permission

If you get consent from the artist, designer, or manufacturer, you’re in the clear. Some museums and creators offer downloadable scans or models under open licenses.

It’s important to distinguish between types of permissions:

• Creative Commons (CC) licenses let you use works under conditions like attribution, non-commercial use, or sharing alike. For example, a scan marked CC BY 4.0 can be reused even commercially, as long as credit is given.

• Open source hardware licenses (like CERN-OHL) typically apply to physical product designs and may permit reproduction and modification, but still require attribution and may have restrictions on commercialization.

Always read the license terms carefully. Attribution is almost always required, and some licenses forbid commercial use.

Example: A designer gives written permission to scan and 3D print their open-source lamp design, shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial license.

6. Objects Without Design Protection

If an object was never registered under a design protection regime or if the design right has expired, scanning and using the object is generally allowed. Not all objects are protected by design rights—especially if they are too functional, generic, or not formally registered.

Example: Scanning a 10-year-old kitchen appliance with a plain design that was never registered as a protected design.

7. Education or Research (Limited)

Using scans internally in classrooms or labs may be allowed under educational exceptions. But don’t publish or commercialize them.

Example: A university professor scans a medieval artifact for use in a closed-access archaeology course.

What to Avoid:

1. Scanning Modern Art or Designer Products Without Permission

Even in public places, modern sculptures, toys, or branded products are often protected by copyright or design rights. Scanning and sharing or selling those models could be infringement.

Example: Scanning a modern public sculpture and uploading the 3D model to Sketchfab is a violation.

2. Reproducing Trademarked Designs

Logos, symbols, and brand shapes (like the Coca-Cola bottle) are protected. Even if you scan an object for fun, sharing or printing it could violate trademark law.

Example: Scanning a shoe with the Nike swoosh logo and sharing the file online. Removing logo from an object is also a violation unless it is a generic object.

3. Scanning Patented Objects for Reproduction

If you scan a patented invention (like a drone part or tool) and use or share it, you may be violating utility patent rights.

Example: Reproducing a patented smartphone stand design via scan and selling it on Etsy.

4. Uploading or Selling Unlicensed Scans

Posting 3D scans of protected designs or artworks on sites like Sketchfab or Thingiverse can trigger takedowns or legal claims.

Example: Sharing a 3D model of a LEGO-compatible brick still under patent protection.

5. Misusing Public Displays

Just because a statue is in a park doesn’t mean you can legally scan and share it. Some public art is still copyrighted, and some museums enforce scanning bans through contracts.

Example: Scanning a copyrighted statue in a city square and distributing the model without checking rights.

Real-World Examples:

1. A fan scan of Baby Yoda led to DMCA takedowns by Disney.

2. In Watch Dogs, Ubisoft left out Chicago’s Cloud Gate sculpture to avoid infringing copyright.

3. Artists secretly scanned the Bust of Nefertiti and released it publicly; the museum objected, but legally the statue is in the public domain.

4. Fans scanning and uploading Warhammer miniatures have faced repeated takedown notices from Games Workshop. For example, users on Reddit report copyright strikes and even store freezes over unauthorized digital models. See discussion on Reddit and Spikey Bits’ report on seller bans.

5. A legal battle over Musée Rodin’s 3D scans: activist Cosmo Wenman filed a freedom-of-information case forcing the museum to release 3D files of public-domain sculptures. Read more on Techdirt and summarized in The Art Newspaper.

6. LEGO has issued mass takedown notices for fan-made 3D models of bricks and minifigures, citing copyright, trademark, and patent concerns. See 3D Printing Industry and Brick Fanatics’ coverage.

7. Photographers and artists report that scans of copyrighted public artworks (e.g., 20th-century sculptures) have been flagged and removed from hosting sites, even though the artwork was visible in public spaces.

7. Ferrari 3D scan. The Appellate Court in Alicante (Spain) explicitly ruled that digitally scanning and 3D printing even parts of a Ferrari 488 GTB could constitute copyright and trademark infringement, since those digital files were used to enable unauthorized reproduction.

New EU Rules

EU Design Reform (effective May 2025/July 2026)

New EU rules extend design rights to prevent creating, copying, sharing, or distributing any digital medium or software that encodes the protected design – explicitly including 3D printing files and CAD models  (see article “EU design law reform explained for businesses”).

These laws reflect evolving jurisprudence that considers digital files as tools for producing protected designs — so distributing or using them can infringe, regardless of current manufacture.

Best Practices

• Stick to your own work, public domain items, or get permission.
• Don’t include logos or brand identifiers in your scans.
• Keep private scans private unless you’re sure there’s no IP protection.
• When in doubt, assume it’s protected and ask the owner.

Photogrammetry is an amazing, creative, and educational tool. Using it in good faith means respecting the rights of creators and brands. 

Remember to consult your local lawyer about IP rights in your country!