Etsy has redefined its Creativity Standards to exclude a vast majority of 3D printed goods sold on its website. Now, anything 3D printed must be “produced based on a seller’s original design.” This would seem to eliminate the wildly popular flexi dragon prints - and many other 3D printed items - that can be found by the thousands on Etsy’s virtual shelves.
The move took 3D print sellers by surprise, as it was unannounced by Etsy itself. Instead, the update was caught by sharp-eyed Etsy sellers who bothered to read the legal section under “Our House Rules,” which was buried a few pages deep in a recent Etsy community newsletter about keeping “our marketplace safe.” The alarm was sounded throughout 3D print forums as Etsy sellers panicked that their shops might be shut down.
