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The following document presents Hive’s service guidelines for the designers we represent. In it, you’ll find details about the services we provide, why we provide them, and how they work—outlining the rules, revenue distribution, royalty models, and criteria for success.
Overview
What is Hive?
What is commercial licensing?
What service does Hive provide designers?
Hive’s Plans
Hive plans are services purchased by sellers—typically 3D printing businesses that want to print and sell designs commercially. Designers are represented by Hive and offer licensing for their designs through us. Designers do not pay to be represented by Hive.
What are the different plans of Hive?
Hive has three different subscription plans, each providing a distinct type of licensing for 3D printing catalogs with different rules and profit distributions. In addition, there is a one-time payment service for lifetime licensing of single designs. All plans include added value such as access to the Hive seller community, expert sessions, business development tools, and direct designer support.
The plans are:
HiveCommunity:An affordable, royalty-free, non-exclusive STL library for commercial use. It combines designs by various 3D designers under one subscription.
HivePlus:An exclusive subscription to a single designer’s catalog, with limited seller seats and premium support & media content. Designs in this plan collect royalties on the prints clients sell.
HiveUnlimited:A high-end tier with limited seats, providing commercial access to all HivePlus exclusive catalogs.
Hive One-Time Payment:High-end, singular designs with limited selling licenses that customers can purchase with a single lifetime payment.
How do designers offer designs for each plan?
Hive Rules and Terms
Each tier has its own rules of conduct. Once approved by Hive, designers choose how to distribute their designs. HiveCommunity
What is HiveCommunity?
HiveCommunity is a curated catalog of non-exclusive, royalty-free 3D designs for commercial use. Subscribers (manufacturers) pay an affordable subscription fee to access a broad range of high-quality, 3D-printable designs from many designers worldwide. Profit is distributed by user activity (explained below).
Members also receive access to the Hive Seller Community with events, business support, and a private Discord channel where designers and other professionals provide insights and guidance.
Why does HiveCommunity exist?
What are the terms of HiveCommunity?
What is the revenue distribution for HiveCommunity?
Exclusivity Incentives:
HivePlus
What is HivePlus?
HivePlus is a premium tier featuring exclusive designer catalogs. Only 50 sellers globally can access any given HivePlus catalog, ensuring low competition and higher potential value. HiveUnlimited subscribers also have access to all HivePlus catalogs. Hive collects royalties on the sales of exclusive designs offered through HivePlus.
Why does HivePlus exist?
What are the terms of HivePlus?
What is the revenue distribution for HivePlus?
HiveUnlimited
What is HiveUnlimited?
HiveUnlimited is the highest tier on Hive, aimed at established, high-volume manufacturers and businesses ready to scale. This tier is exclusive, with limited seller licenses. It includes access to all HivePlus catalogs and premium business support.
All designer HiveCommunity and HivePlus designs are automatically included in the HiveUnlimited plan. Profits are distributed according to user activity.
Why does it exist?
What are the terms of HiveUnlimited?
What is the revenue distribution for HiveUnlimited?
Hive One-Time Payment
What is Hive One-Time Payment?
This is a service where customers can buy lifetime commercial licenses to limited-edition designs with a single payment. Designers upload specific, unique designs that are not available elsewhere, set a limited number of licenses, and ensure these designs meet quality criteria (original, unique, and accompanied by at least 5 high-quality media files). Designs are sold one at a time for a price set jointly by Hive and the designer.
Why does it exist?
What are the terms of Hive One-Time Payment?
What is the profit distribution for One-Time Payment?
Royalty Terms (Hive Trust)
What are Royalties?
Royalties are a 10% fee on each sale of an exclusive product, paid by the seller to the designer. This ensures direct financial reward and valuable sales data for the designer. Royalties are trust-based, meaning sellers report their own sales. The sales cost does not include taxes or shipping costs.
Why Royalties?
Monthly Reporting:
Account Suspension:
General Design Terms
Intellectual property (IP) for the designs remains entirely under the designer’s control.
Designers will only upload original designs that do not infringe on any intellectual property.
Any designs uploaded to Hive remain on the platform for at least 1 year.
Exclusive designs on all tiers must remain exclusive for at least 6 months. After 6 months, if a design generated over $200 USD in royalties over the previous 3 months, it remains exclusive for at least another 3 months, and so on. If it did not meet this threshold, it can be removed from exclusivity.
Designs labeled “Only on Hive” must remain as such for at least 6 months. If they become available for personal use after that period, the label and exclusivity incentives will be adjusted.
Designs that become more exclusive over time (e.g., removed from personal use on another platform) will gain their new label and incentives 1 month after the changes are made.
Subscribers to a designer’s plan will continue receiving service for the remainder of their billing cycle. For example, if someone signs up for a yearly HivePlus plan, they retain access for the full year. Monthly subscribers can have their plan stopped after the month ends. Yearly subscribers must be served until their subscription period is over. Nonetheless, after one year (and according to the terms), designs can be made unexclusive or removed if the required conditions are met.
Any change in design status must be communicated to Hive management 2 weeks in advance.
This handbook serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding how Hive operates, the plans available, and the terms under which designers contribute their work. By following these guidelines and clarifications, designers and sellers can foster a successful and mutually beneficial commercial ecosystem.
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