Copying existing miniatures - Laws, licences and legality

Article updated: 2023.03.01

When you decide to use the designs others made to create a miniature (be it a recast miniature, 3D printed model, papercraft), there are several legal points you have to consider: copyright, design protection, trademark, derivative work rights.

Summary

When someone creates a miniature, they have the copyright to the mini, that is, the right to create copies of it. Creating copies without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal.

If a sculptor wants to copy the designs of an existing intellectual property (IP), they need the IP holder's permission to do that. The way you create this copy (recast miniature, 3D printed miniature, papercraft miniature) doesn't matter in this regard. Copying the original designs without the licence is illegal. The law protects every design for a number of years. After it has passed, you can use the design to sculpt or print your own model, but you still can't make physical copies of the originals, and in most cases you can't use the likeness of real people.

I've seen several opinions and question on the internet about the legalities of copying miniatures, so I've collected some of them.

Contents

The legality of making copies of miniatures

The legality of creating accessories for miniatures

Often cited reasons for making illegal copies of miniatures

Places with different laws regarding making copies of miniatures

Legal actions against copying miniatures

The legality of creating papercraft model copies of miniatures

The legality of creating 3D printer copies of miniatures

Resources - Copying existing miniatures - Laws, licences and legality

Casting miniatures - Miniature hobby guide

I've gathered my experiences with casting miniatures. I've also collected the resources and casting tutorials I've found interesting. 

Miniature casting services

Miniature casting services: Do you have an own wargame or boardgame miniature sculpt you'd like to have some copies of? You can cast as many as you want if you pay for casting services. I've included some 3D printing services that specialize in miniatures. I've listed the commission miniature casting services by area.

If you see (Games Nexus) listed in the links for a casting service or 3D printing service, it means you can find product reviews of their work on our website. If you see the name of a person highlighted as a link, it means you can find an article about that person and their work.

There are two kinds of moulds you can use to cast miniatures:

Rubber moulds: They are made of rubber, cheaper to produce. You can cast metal or resin miniatures from these.

Steel moulds: They are made of steel, have a longer life, but more expensive to produce. You can cast polystyrene, PVC miniatures this way.

Prodos UniCast: An interesting version of steel moulds, seems to be cheaper than the usual moulds.

• Michal Hartlinski (from Prodos Games): Prodos UniCast is here: Preview article.

Guidelines

• From the Warp: How to find a good artist for commission work: Guidelines for ordering commissions.
• From the Warp: How to find a good client for commission work: Guidelines for those who take commissions.
• Spikey Bits: Cheap is Not Enough! Painting Studio Study: Review and comparison of miniatures related services.