Help with reporting and copyright certificate

Hello.

Not sure where to post this.

As the store is open today I searched for my bags and unbelievably I found somebody selling one of them . At a knock down price.

What I don’t get is how!

I have this bag on Sketchfab, but no one has brought it yet. It’s only available with payment. No free downloads.

Anyhow…I set about with reporting it but I had to stop on the …Upload Certification of Copyright.
What Certification of Copyright? It wanted me to produce one before I could proceed.

I modelled the bag and uploaded it to Sketchfab. Like you do. I have no idea about this certificate.

I’m at a loss as to what to do. I want it taken down but how?

Any help is appreciated.

Edit… I’ve just searched that persons listings and I have found another one of my bag models!

Unfortunately there is a lot of stolen stuff on FAB right now. The 3D model preview gives an avenue for theft, I am not sure why they are advertising it as a feature of the marketplace but this is probably how they gained access to your model.

Thanks for the reply.
I’ve never heard of the 3D model preview.

I’m not sure how they thought they’d get away with it. There are only about fifty handbags on fab at the moment, and when I searched handbags it was there staring right at me! In fact, annoyingly, it was above mine!!

By asking for a “Certification of Copyright” they probably means a proof of ownership or self-certification, since the site is just launched you may find wording imprecision without proper clarification here and there… (i’m just guessing).

To not give more time to the thief, just create a PDF declaring that you are the owner, paste some screenshots or URL to Sketchfab to show the publication dates as a form of proof… ) and upload it with your reporting.

If this is your first time dealing with stolen models, would be useful to get familiar with DMCA takedowns: What is a DMCA Takedown?

Is a fact people can easily stole meshes from the Sketchfab webiste even if not free.

I always keep also older versions of the process when creating a model that works as proof of ownership too.

Thanks. Sounds possible.
However, I think I’ll wait and see if anyone else has managed to solve it and see what they did.

As for proof I created it.
Like anyone else would have, I have the original file with the model in it’s raw unsubdivided state.
I think I’m correct in assuming only I could have that. If they only have the OBJ they wouldn’t be able to get back to that state.
I spend a lot of time with retoplogy. I do it by hand, no add-ons.
And the textures, I created them with nodes and I tided them up when baked. So I have the textures before I painted in the glitches.
I assume that will prove I created them?

You can un-subdivide a mesh in Blender with a modifier.

Yes you can. I was thinking that because of how I retopologize, the exact shape of the bag, after un-subbing the mesh, wouldn’t be exactly the same. Oh well…I suppose me having the textures before touching it in means only I have the unedited version of the textures.