You can print your own photographs, your own words, and your own company's logo. You generally cannot print cartoon characters, film and TV artwork, sports club badges, song lyrics or another company's logo without the owner's permission. Copyright and trade mark rights belong to whoever created or owns the work, and in Singapore they apply to the business doing the printing as much as to the person ordering.
This page is general information rather than legal advice. If a project has real money behind it, take proper advice.
What can you print without asking anybody?
- Photographs you took. Family, friends, pets, holidays, your own work.
- Words you wrote, including names, dates, in-jokes and messages.
- Names and dates generally. A name is not copyrightable.
- Your own company's logo, or one you are authorised to use on the company's behalf.
- Artwork you commissioned, provided the agreement gave you the right to reproduce it. Worth checking, because commissioning art does not automatically transfer copyright.
- Genuinely licence-free artwork, meaning work released under a licence that permits commercial use, or work old enough to be out of copyright.
Between them, these cover very nearly everything anyone actually wants on a gift.
What needs permission first?
- Cartoon and animation characters. Every one of them belongs to a studio.
- Film, TV and game artwork, including logos, posters, stills and typefaces used as branding.
- Football and sports club badges. Heavily protected trade marks.
- Song lyrics and poetry. Even a single line.
- Another company's logo. Including a client's, unless they have asked you to.
- Photographs somebody else took, including images found through a search engine. A picture online belongs to whoever made it.
- Fonts, in some cases. Some typeface licences restrict commercial products.
- Recognisable people, where an image is used to suggest endorsement.
Why does the printer care? It is my gift
Because the printer is the one manufacturing and selling a copy, which is the act the law is concerned with. If a workshop prints a hundred mugs carrying a studio's character, the workshop has commercially reproduced protected artwork, regardless of who asked for it.
That is why a supplier who refuses is protecting both of you rather than being awkward. A supplier who never asks any questions is taking a risk with your order in it.
What counts as permission?
Something in writing that names the work and allows commercial reproduction. In practice, that means one of:
- A licence agreement from the rights holder
- A written authorisation from the company whose logo it is, for example an email from the marketing team
- A stock licence covering commercial use and physical products, which not all stock licences do
- An open licence whose terms explicitly permit commercial use
What does not count: a verbal assurance that it will be fine, a claim that it is only one item, or the fact that the file was free to download.
The five most common misunderstandings
- Free to download means free to sell. It does not. This is the big one, and it comes up constantly with 3D models. A file can be free to print at home and still forbid selling the result.
- I bought the file, so I own it. Buying a file usually buys a licence to use it in defined ways, not the copyright.
- It is fine if I credit the artist. Credit is courtesy. It is not a licence.
- It is only one item, so nobody minds. Quantity affects how likely anyone notices. It does not change the legal position.
- I changed it, so it is mine now. A derivative work of protected artwork is still tied to the original.
How do 3D model licences work?
This deserves its own section because it is where the trouble usually is. Thousands of excellent 3D models are shared online, and their licences vary enormously.
Broadly, you will meet three kinds:
- Personal use only. Print it for yourself. Selling a printed copy is not allowed. Most free models sit here.
- Commercial licence available. The designer sells a separate licence that permits selling printed copies. This is the correct route for a shop.
- Open licences permitting commercial use. Some Creative Commons variants allow it, and some explicitly do not. The NC in a CC BY-NC licence means non-commercial, which rules out selling.
The safe habit is to treat every model as personal-use-only until its licence says otherwise in writing.
At Gift Lab, no product built from a 3D model goes on sale until its licence has been checked and recorded against the product, with a name and a date. It is the one internal rule with real legal consequences attached, so it is not left to memory.
What happens if you send us something we cannot print?
We tell you before anything is made, and we say why. Usually there is a route to the same idea: your own photograph of the thing rather than the official artwork, a design in the same spirit without the protected elements, or an original piece commissioned for you.
Nothing is scrapped without a conversation, and nothing is charged for material we did not use.
Key takeaways
- Your own photos, words and company logo are always fine.
- Characters, club badges, lyrics, film artwork and other companies' logos need written permission.
- Free to download is not free to sell. Especially with 3D models.
- Crediting the artist is not a substitute for a licence.
- A supplier who checks is protecting your order, not obstructing it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a cartoon character printed on a birthday gift for my child?
Not from a business selling you the printed item, unless it holds a licence. A workshop printing and selling that copy is commercially reproducing the studio's artwork. What often works instead is an original design in a similar style, or your own photograph.
Can I print my employer's logo on gifts?
Yes, if you are ordering on the company's behalf or have its authorisation. That is the normal corporate gift case. A supplier may reasonably ask you to confirm it in writing.
Is it legal to print a photo I found on Google Images?
Generally no. Search results are not a source of licensed images; every picture belongs to whoever created it. Use your own photograph, or an image licensed for commercial use.
Can I print song lyrics on a gift?
Not without permission from the rights holder, even for a single line. Lyrics are among the more actively protected forms of text.
What does non-commercial mean on a 3D model licence?
You may print it for yourself but not sell printed copies. If you see NC in a Creative Commons licence, or the words personal use, selling the printed object is not permitted.
What if I commissioned the artwork myself?
Check the agreement. Commissioning artwork does not automatically transfer copyright, and many illustrators license specific uses while retaining ownership. If it says nothing about reproduction on products, ask the artist.
Does a small quantity change anything?
Not legally. It changes the odds of anyone noticing, which is a different question from whether it is allowed.
In short
Your own photographs, your own words and your own company's logo can go on a gift without asking anyone. Characters, badges, lyrics, film artwork and other companies' logos need written permission, and free to download never means free to sell.
See how your gift is made, or ask us whether your artwork is usable.