I’ve come to find out DEFCAD has ripped my Projectile Dysfunction 15mm design and is selling it on their site. What can I do about it?
Interesting, they have one of mine listed, and someone did way better screenshots than I did for it. AI generated maybe? It has more views there than it does on Odysee.
If they are using your files, you have a copyright on them which automatically comes into existence when you created the files and published them. They are in the U.S., so you can sue them in the U.S.
Under U.S. law, it is important to register your copyright with the Copyright Office (Library of Congress). If you do this in a timely manner, which means less than three months after publication, you can sue in federal court for statutory damages of up to $150,000 per file for willfully redistributing the files. Suing in regular federal court is difficult and expensive and takes a long time and you would likely need an attorney to navigate the process. There is an alternative, however:
You can also sue via the Copyright Claims Board at ccb.gov which has a simplified speedy process and which can get you up to $15,000 per file (with a limit of $30,000 per suit). Note, I do not know whether you need to have timely registered your copyright with the CO/LOC to do this. (You DO need to register it, though, even if untimely. I don’t know how an untimely registration affects the damages you can get with the CCB.)
Registration with the CO/LOC is simple but does require paying a fee. Last time I went through that it was $40 per registration.
You can talk to or even hire an attorney to help you navigate the CCB if you really want to, but AFAIK it is straightforward enough that most people can navigate the process on their own.
Edit: I noticed below you mentioned you published under a CC license. You still retain copyright, CC licenses just tell people how they are allowed to use the files, and is explicitly not public-domain. However, that may or may not complicate things with the CCB and/or regular federal court. You might want to talk to an attorney familiar with copyright law and Creative Commons licenses to figure out how much you can sue for.
Another edit: note, I haven’t tried registering STLs, STEPs, or other CAD type files ever. I assume they can be protected the same as software programs, but I don’t know this for certain. My work was mostly with commercial packaging (to be able to block counterfeiters).
Disclaimer: these off-the-cuff remarks are not legal advice. For legal advice upon which you can rely, please contact an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. These remarks were made using 100% recycled electrons.
They create an account for people and make it seem like you’re supporting them and posting your stuff there. They likely won’t take it down. Fuck defcad.
