Artificial limitations: How will copyright hold up to 3D printing?

As content moved into the digital realm, copyright found itself facing tremendous new challenges. Digital content may require resources to create, but it requires nearly nothing to be replicated. Slowly but surely, our media lost all limitations with regards to distribution.

First the written word fell to word processors, photocopiers and printers. Photography followed suit. With CD/DVD writers and broadband connections, audio and video are going the same way. All these media have become practically free to transfer and spread. This was a mixed blessing for the content creators; as distribution costs dropped, so too did the value of their content. The battle of copyright trying to hold its own through the digital age is well known.

We have reached a point where it is more difficult to avoid information spread than it is to actually spread it. All in all, the custodians of copyright have had little success in this regard. Data is always freely available, as long as a few people are willing to share it. Internet piracy is prolific, ranging from the extremes (just think torrent sharing) to the fairly grey, everyday piracy (like illegitimate YouTube uploads).

There is a fair amount of debate as to whether or not current copyright application is becoming outdated. As the public becomes more immersed in the information gluttony of the age, the artificial limitations placed on content to protect copyright infringement are hampering it as much as protecting it.

As increasingly large amounts of data are transferred between people all over the world, it is becoming more and more difficult to lay claim to exclusive rights over specific content. Music serves as a perfect example of an industry that is battling tooth and nail over how to deal with content that is freely available to anyone with an internet connection.

As copyrighters struggle to deal with this new world of free media, there is new beast knocking at its door, one that might just be a game changer: 3D printing and scanning.

3D printing is exactly what it sounds like; it is a printer that constructs three dimensional physical representations of a digital schematic. Some 3D printers print layer after layer of plaster, others use liquid polymer which hardens when hit by digital light. Whatever the method, these printers are becoming cheaper, smaller, faster and more efficient.

While a 3D printer now will cost you somewhere from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, there are cheaper do-it-yourself options for materials costing only a few hundred, like the RepRap Project. Over the next decade, however, it is likely that these printers will drop to a price that will be affordable by a regular household.

The objects created with these printers are impressive. They can already create a wide array of items; from fully functioning scissors to replacement spares for household appliances and 2D illusions. All that is required is the digital schematic for the object, some printing material, and presto! It’s not nearly as far away as it sounds, and there have already been copyright infringement problems arising from this new technology.

In this case, it is a 3D version of a Penrose Triangle, an object that is frequently seen as a 2D illusion. A Netherlands-based designer named Ulrich Schwanitz originally created a 3D schematic for the triangle (creating a YouTube video showing the object), but refused to share the design. He opted instead to sell the object online. A 3D modeller, however, watched the video and worked out how to recreate it. He decided to post the instructions on the open-source site Thingiverse. Schwanitz unsuccessfully tried to get the designs removed from Thingiverse, claiming copyright infringement.

This illustrates the potential problems copyright and patent laws will have with 3D printing and scanning. When a patented object can be scanned and replicated by a home user with relative ease, a whole range of new industries are going to suffer from the same troubles as the digital content industries. While the legitimate usefulness of being able to print and replace the battery cover for your remote control will save hours of frustration, the ability to scan and replicate the shell of popular consumer electronic devices will make it even easier to fake goods. Sculptures and miniatures (such as popular tabletop game Warhammer) could potentially become victims of a new form of piracy.

Despite possible difficulties, it is clear that the technology can positively impact our lives. The ability to effectively transfer physical properties in digital form around the world can have incredible applications in mechanical, medical and personal spheres. The potential for crowdsourcing small-scale engineering projects across borders is mind boggling. With an affordable 3D printer, the growth in amateur 3D modellers will provide us with endless innovation.

Nevertheless, the industries potentially affected are forewarned as to what can happen if the copyright problem is ignored or treated with too heavy a hand. As this technology comes of age, it would be a shame to see it stifled by either overprotective copyrights or an utter lack thereof.