The error may occur if you have Unicode-named objects in the scene. A quick workaround is to rename the Max scene file and the object names to only use Latin characters.

A quick way to test if everything runs well is to use the 3ds Max share view feature. Under the hood, it invokes the Model Derivative services. This can be done by navigating to:.3ds Max > File Menu > Share View (viewable on the browser)

Which version of 3ds Max are you using?