3D printing, like many emerging technologies, is a great
opportunity slowly finding a myriad of problems to solve. The decreasing costs and
increasing quality of 3D printers, driven by groups ranging from Makerbot and Formlabs
down to Maplin’s
budget Velleman K8200, has meant that the hardware is becoming increasingly
accessible. Companies such as UPS are also
increasingly focusing on making 3D printing accessible through their
network of locations, negating the need for hardware investment. Meanwhile
websites such as Thingiverse and technology such as 3D digitizers and extrapolation
technology are creating more and more things of which to print and
innovators are creating the amazing and the worrying. With operating system support
coming in version 8.1 of Windows 8 and brands such as DVV,
Amazon,
Nokia
and others expanding the way the technology is used, 3D printing looks poised to
move further from industry buzz word to tangible results.
Even as just a buzz word within the industry, 3D printing
has long been attractive based on the wealth of opportunities it provides from
rapid prototyping, to personalizing items, large scale building projects and
even medical applications. The sell of getting a 3D printer is equally
attractive to consumers, get one and you can begin to literally make anything
you can print. At first look, 3D printing becomes attractive as a way to get
involved in an upcoming Napster of things, harkening back to the early 2000’s
bonanza of music and file sharing that changed the industry and started
copyright struggles that are still on-going. To some, the cost of purchase
could be offset in free goods alone.
Copyright is important in incentivizing creators to make
things that can provide 3D printers value and while many sites will provide a
base of objects, others are going to want a more closed solution. Established
intellectual property holders such as TV and movie studios have learned lessons
from music and movie sharing and may be apt to stem the same from happening in
object design based around their properties. A startup called Authentise, funded by the X Prize
foundation, looks to provide a copyright solution that provides convenience but
maintains feasibility of ownership. In much the same way as Netflix, the
company’s Sendshapes
technology streams object data through a program to the printer, allowing for
one off creation of a purchased object. The technology opens the opportunity
for new business avenues, from one off object purchase to even a possible subscription
based access model.
While technology such as Sendshapes will not eliminate
copyright piracy in the developing field of 3D printing, previous learning from
music and movies shows that it may be taking a step forward in leveraging convenience
to preserve copyright.
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