All official MADOS designs are published under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) licence found here:

This means that all copyright related rights to these designs have been waived. Here is an explanation of what that means from the Creative Commons website:

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By applying CC0, creators and rightsholders enable:

• Free use of their work for any purpose

• No permission requests required

• No attribution required

• Unrestricted copying, modification, and redistribution

• Easier reuse in education, science, art, and innovation

Because these designs are published under CC0, you can use these designs to create your own models, and you are able to publish your designs under any licence of your choice, including selling your designs under a paid licence.

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This licence was chosen to ensure that using MADOS joints or MADOS blocks is as easy as possible, especially when designing parts and assemblies. It also allows the models to be used for official or commercial purposes, such as Education, Research, Commercial Engineering Structures, and Open Source Projects.

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There are many licences you can choose from when publishing 3D models, and this website puts them into 3 different categories: Creative Commons Zero, Other Open Source, and Paid.

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When using, modifying, or selling a design that is not your own, you must follow any restrictions set by the licence. I have written a simple guide to explain the Licence category system used on this website, and what restrictions you must follow based on each licence type. This is not legal advice and laws may differ depending on where you live.

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Creative Commons Zero - No restrictions on the use of this design.

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Other Open Source - This category includes all other Open Source licences, so you must check each licence on the download page. Personal use is always free. However, for any of the following cases, you must check if the licence allows it beforehand:

• Re-uploading the model (e.g. as part of an assembly model)

• Modifying or remixing the model and uploading it

• Selling the printed parts or using it for business purposes

• Sharing the model or a remix under a different licence

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Almost all licences other than CC0 will require you to give credit / attribution if you do any of the 4 things above. The easiest ways to do this is to use the Remix feature on websites like Printables and Makerworld. If you want to sell physical prints, check if the licence allows it, and make sure you give clear credit to the designer on your storefront or product packaging.

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Paid / Premium - These are usually personal use only. Usually you CANNOT reupload these models, modify and upload them, or sell the printed parts. However, some creators may have a Commercial Tier or a subscription that allows you to sell physical prints.

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What does this mean for Assembly models?

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Assemblies are structures made using multiple parts, and this website allows you to share your assembly design instructions. You can do this by uploading your instructions to a website like Printables, and you can also choose what licence to publish it under.

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If your assembly instructions are only images or a video explaining how to assemble your design, you do not need to worry about following individual licences when uploading and sharing your instructions.

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However, if you are using someone else's instructions, even images, you must follow any restrictions from their licence in the same way you would for a 3D model, e.g. you may be unable to share the instructions, modify them, or sell the instructions.

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If your assembly instructions include an assembly 3D model then things get more complicated. Here is a basic guide:

• If the part models used in your own Assembly model are all CC0, then you can share it under any licence, including a paid licence.

• If you download an Assembly model shared by someone else under CC0, and it only includes CC0 part models, then you can share it and modify it without any requirements.

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• If any model used in your design has a licence other than CC0, you must follow the restrictions set out in those licences. These can include:

  • Not being able to share the assembly model at all (often shown as ND for No Derivatives, or as "all rights reserved")​

  • Being required to upload your assembly model under the same licence or on the same site as the original model.

  • Not being able to modify the assembly model and upload your modified version.

  • Being required to give attribution to the creator (follow the TASL structure if you are not sure, here is a guide)