Some notes about ripped models.

Hello, dear Swappers.

I'm sure you guys have noticed that in recent months the public reports concerning ripped and/or plagiarized models have gone up quite a bit. We just want to lay out our policy regarding those models and users and show you how a stolen model looks.

In the video below you will see me comparing two meshes, one of them is a model we host here on Blend Swap, and the other is a mesh that a user located on another site, containing the very same topology and which let us know the model contained ripped parts.

Our policy about rips:

We will not tolerate ripping or plagiarism of any kind. This is how we will react to some situations that we feel haven't been explained in full to you guys, these are ordered by the gravity of the transgression:

  • If you use CGTextures.com your model will be rejected. We can't host your file because CGTextures.com files are not compatible with our licenses, even modified version, regardless of them being unrecognizable. Same goes for other texture sites whose licenses are not compatible with Blend Swap. If we notice you repeatedly uploading illegal textures. You will be sent a warning and asked to be more careful when using other people's assets.
  • If you fail to mention your file contains assets by someone else that expressly asked for attribution your bend will be rejected immediately. You will be sent a warning and asked to be more careful when using other people's assets that require attribution.
  • If we come to know of you uploading an assets you didn't make, for example the Batman in the video above, we will block you as soon as we can establish the accuracy of the report; and we'll post one of those dashboard notices notifying every body that the assets you uploaded are ripped/stolen/plagiarized, linking to your models and profile.
  • If you know you've uploaded a model that is in part or in whole ripped from another artist you have two options: 
    1. Delete the blend before we find out and tell us about the model, we will give you a second chance if you're brave enough to plead guilty. 
    2. Wait for us to find out on our own or for another member of the community to report you and be banned permenantly, no second chances.

To recap:

  1. Don't use assets and textures that are not properly licensed for you to use.
  2. Don't forget to give credit when credit is due. You can use the assets on Blend Swap to build upon, but you must not forget to mention where you got the original work.
  3. Look for resources and textures you can actualy use on Blend Swap, like Plain Textures, a very nice collection of Blend-Swap-compatible files, there's also a question with a list of textures sites.
  4. DON'T EVER UPLOAD MODELS OR TEXTURES RIPPED FROM A GAME OR THAT YOU TOOK FROM SOME OTHER ARTIST, BLEND SWAP HAS MANY EYES, WE WILL EVENTUALLY FIND OUT, WE WILL BLOCK YOU AND EXPOSE YOU AS A PLAGIARIST. RIPPING AND PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED

We truly hate to have to post to the dashboard those dreadful notices about a model we host being ripped or that contains ripped parts. Believe me when I say I do not want to post a single one of them.

When you make someone else's work pass as yours you're not only hurting your reputation, you are also betraying the community. Blend Swap is here to be a source of awesome, original work; we are not a piracy hub, and it's most certainly not our goal to serve as an outlet for unlawful distribution of other artists work.

We also would like to thank all the great users that help us by reporting dubious blends, we can't thank you enough for keeping an eye out for us. We couldn't possibly identify every stolen model out there.

Cheers to all, keep enjoying the site.

Edited March 15, 2015 by poifox