Hey guys, The Google 3D warehouse ( http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/ ) is a massive collection of free 3D models and I'd like to use some of them in my project. However, the actual license for the models is a little unclear and there's no way to contact the original creator for most of them. The terms of service states:

Quote: Your Rights Google claims no ownership or control over any Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through the 3D Warehouse. You or a third party licensor, as appropriate, retain all patent, trademark and copyright to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the 3D Warehouse and you are responsible for protecting those rights, as appropriate. By submitting, posting or displaying Content through the 3D Warehouse, you grant Google and its end users a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual license to exercise the rights in the Content, as stated below: 1. to reproduce the Content; 2. to create and reproduce derivative works of the Content; 3. to display publicly and distribute copies of the Content; 4. to display publicly and distribute copies of derivative works of the content. Furthermore, for the avoidance of doubt, Google reserves, and you grant Google, the right to syndicate Content submitted, posted or displayed by you on or through the 3D Warehouse and use that Content in connection with any of the services offered by Google. Notwithstanding the above, end users may not aggregate the Content obtained from the 3D Warehouse for redistribution, and may not use or distribute Content obtained from the 3D Warehouse in a mapping or geographic application or service without Google’s prior authorization. You retain the right to make the Content available under different license terms or to stop distributing the Content through the 3D Warehouse at any time; provided, however that any such election will not serve to withdraw the license granted under these Terms of Service. In order to stop distributing the Content through the 3D Warehouse, you must terminate these Terms of Service as set forth in Section 9, or utilize the content removal function provided within the service, in which case the content removal will be effective within two (2) days.

This is basically stating that I have the right to take these models and use them in my project freely as long as I "distribute" (non-commercially). Am I understanding this right? [Edited by - fd9_ on December 27, 2008 1:48:25 AM]

The person who submitted the materials agreed to that license. You are free to do those four things, and the item in the next paragraph.

Specifically, you may:
1> reproduce it
2> make and use stuff based on it
3> display and distribute it
4> display and distribute stuff based on it
and
5> You may not download the stuff just to create your own download site
6> You may not use it for use in a mapping program without asking Google

That's fairly broad, so you can do just about anything you want with it as far as your game is concerned.

Note: There are still many things you don't have permission to do. Most of the world has some form of "moral rights". These include rights of attribution and integrity. That is, you can't claim it as your own, or try to defame the original creator, and so on.

In the United States specifically, there are many additional legal protections. Moral rights are not transferable, and end only with the life of the work's creator. Even if they transfer their copyright, they retain the moral rights unless they specifically waive those. The license does not specifically waive moral rights, so the protections remain.


I don't see anything in their full license that restricts you to non-commercial use.