27 cultural organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution, have signed on to an initiative that aims to bring their 3D scanned cultural heritage collections into the public domain. 

The initiative, launched by Sketchfab, "allows museums and similar organizations to share their 3D data more openly" by having them release scans of objects, artworks, and other collection items into the so-called Creative Commons 0 Public Domain Dedication realm. 

The designation allows for these scans to be used in creative and commercial endeavors without requiring new users to request permission from these institutions if they follow certain guidelines. 

According to Sketchfab, the license requires that one "must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made," it also allows for users to "copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission."

This means that these items can be incorporated quite easily into design projects and other creative endeavors. As always, users should thoroughly vet the licensing requirements for public domain items. See the Sketchfab forum dedicated to this topic to learn more about the licensing agreement. 

The move comes as global institutions and groups like Sketchfab and Google Arts & Culture link up to promote wider access to cultural heritage items through digital means. According to Sketchfab, over 300,000 3D models have been made available to online users through the initiative.