14 DAY TRIAL // 3D printing is getting really good, and there was even a full-color model released not long ago, but this isn't only causing goodwill. There are people who are wary of this.
And it's mostly because there are no rules in place, for now, meant to regulate the use of 3D models or their dispersion among the populace.
Governments around the world are looking into it, but so far only 3D printed guns have been specifically banned, and only in Philadelphia.
Wanting to protect one's intellectual property is, as always, the driving force behind this so-called ”shadow revolution” meant to stop 3D replication. Scientific American gives some solutions / ways to limit liberty.
One way would be to include a pattern or mark in a product surface that is too small for human eyes, but which would shut down a 3D scanner or printer when detected.
Another way would be to embed “object cancers” into objects when replicated more times than they should be.
Then there's the idea of designing original objects out of specially formed nanomaterials that trigger shutdown commands when people try to replicate them.
All in all, there are plenty of people planning some super-special but easy to proliferate way of branding, watermarking as it were, their 3D printing inventions.
Of course, to actually put all this into practice would mean updating the software of all 3D printers on the market, or maybe even the printers themselves.
In any case, the US Patent and Trademark office will likely need to overhaul some of its core rules for protecting intellectual property in order to make this happen, and a lot of pull with countries' leading bodies will be needed as well.
Either way, whether or not this “shadow revolution” happens, 3D printing will prove to be very disruptive, especially over the next few years.