Hollywood starts sending out C & D orders to 3D designers

SolidSmack had an interesting article today about Paramount sending a Cease and Desist order to a 3D designer who created their own 3D printable model based on their Intellectual Property.

How far does IP go?

I’ve had first hand experience with this with a designer who added the name “Field Notes” to one of the designer here on 3DMarvels.com – it was an easy fix and honest error. The question is… who owns IP and to what extent? Right now, if you watch a movie and make a “sketch” and try to sell it, because it’s considered art more often than not… you are “safe” but how about 3D models? To say things are murky here is an understatement. This is really nothing compared to what lawyers will have to contend with in a few years once EVERYBODY gets their hands on a 3D printer – the quality will improve as will the speed… it’s a given!

How to avoid IP issues with 3D designs?

The easiest way to avoid this situation if you are a designer is to design your own stuff… that’s what I’ve been doing with WoodMarvels.com and will eventually do with 3DMarvels.com as well. It is a longer haul as you need to build your portfolio, attract your own client base and work much harder as people aren’t looking for your stuff but eventually, having your own IP – no royalties, no trademark disputes and best of all, a clear path for your designs to gather steam on.

3D Piracy?

If you try to scan and print money, there is software now that doesn’t allow it to happen – it’s embeded in every note. The good old days of scanning and printing your own money died as a result (for most people anyways) – then software came along, copy a disk and mail it out… still a HUGE problem but now, let’s extend that to products. PirateBay has already opened-up it’s database to 3D printed projects – and that’s small potatoes as 3D printing is still too expensive and slow – much less too hard to learn – for the vast majority of the population. This will change.

I’m sure in 5-10 years, 3D Piracy (not a good name for it – suggest something better) will be rampant. This is both good and bad – it means products aren’t made 10 000 at a time in a factory but can now, be printed and modified by the end-consumer to suit their needs perfectly. They say that half of the world’s economy is the black market, the costs to set-up a black market shop are high, although you don’t have to worry about returns, you do need to worry about your door getting kicked down. With consumer 3D printers, like MP3 and movie downloads of today – anybody and everybody can take an existing design and easily replicate it – if everybody is doing it – who do you go after first? No longer being bound to wait for companies to update their products, you can do so yourself and even sell the proceeds rather easily… a revolution is afoot and it will hit both consumers and manufacturers as well as IP developers out of nowhere shortly.

Solution to 3D Piracy: 3D Recognition Technology

Familiar with facial recognition technology? Well, imagine the same but within a 3D environment focused on products. In a few years, any and all 3D printer software will have an embeded database link to the internet where people register their designs and – like it or not – if the design closely matches something in there, the machine just won’t print it. The defacto standard for 3D printed files is STL – a file format that’s an industry standard thanks to 3D Systems (yes, they do come-up often don’t they – the benefit of being an yearly pioneer!) so creating algorithms that compare different STL and even enable you to purchase a design (or pay a royalty) IF it closely matches something in there WILL BE HUGE BUSINESS in the coming years.

The Bottom Line

Invent stuff, especially with 3D printing, your canvas is only limited by your build space and your imagination!