Reports that remixes of the ubiquitous 3DBenchy 3D printing benchmark model have been removed from Printables as enforcement of the model’s original Creative Commons – NoDerivatives 4.0 International License have been rolling in this week. But it turns out the enforcement isn’t at the request of the model’s current rights holder.

Reddit user u/mkrjoe shared a chat on the subreddit r/cursedbenchies they claim to be with Printables support, asking why the 3DBency remix “My Benchy glitched out” had been removed from the repository. The reply cited license enforcement as the reason, and told the user that all 3DBenchy derivatives would be removed from Printables in the coming days.

The Reddit poster and others in the 3D printing community were quick to point to 3Dbenchy.com and the model’s current rights holder, Denmark-based NTI Group, as the party behind license enforcement. But that isn’t the case, says NTI Group Chief Marketing Officer Henriette Tamasauskas.

“We are trying to establish an overview of what has happened, as we have not actively and intentionally tried to do a license reinforcement,” Tamasauskas told All3DP.

Later, Tamasauskas confirmed that NTI Group has taken no action to enforce the 3DBenchy license and has no intention of charging for or otherwise monetizing the 3DBenchy model.

A statement from Prusa Research, the company behind Printables, states that the repository is conducting business as usual and enforcing the model’s original license.

“We understand that 3DBenchy is a beloved and iconic model in the 3D printing community, and its widespread popularity means that enforcing the nuances of its license can be complex. Therefore, we approach the reduction or removal of such models with great care and humility. Not all remixes of 3DBenchy on Printables.com have been removed yet, as we are still evaluating individual cases to decide whether they can remain on the platform or need to be removed to comply with the license.”

Prusa Research later confirmed to All3DP that the license enforcement was prompted by a third-party report, but couldn’t provide further details.

Coinciding with the incendiary Reddit post, Daniel Norée, the “father of 3Dbenchy” shared a heartfelt LinkedIn post lamenting the acquisition and subsequent merging of Creative Tools, the company where he worked when the 3DBenchy model was created. NTI Group purchased Creative Tools in March of last year.

The community was quick to accuse the new 3DBenchy rights holder of initiating license enforcement because it feared just that. “This is the reason we have rule 5 [‘Don’t share official Benchy model files that have been modified’] since a few months back,” an r/cursedbenchies mod said under the post. And who can blame them? It wouldn’t be exactly unusual for a new license holder to pursue enforcement, even if that’s not what happened here.