Does a 3D print of a CAD file constitute a derivative work?
<p>This came up in a comment discussion on a <a href="http://hackaday.com/2016/02/22/ask-hackaday-selling-cad-prints-that-are-not-yours/" rel="nofollow">news story</a> of someone selling prints of models that were licensed CC-BY-NC-ND. </p>

<p>Ignoring that the seller themselve seems pretty clueless and we can disregard their defence, the question comes up in the comments: is a 3d printed object a derivative work of it's design file and if so, in what jurisdictions?</p>

<p>Yes, the print is a derivative work in exactly the same way that a building is derivative work of the architectural and engineering plans.</p>

<p>Yes, the print is a derivative work. This is because it wouldn't be able to fundamentally exist without the file. </p>

copyright derivative-work