So I didn't know this was happening, but just learned by way of an Ars Technica article that 3D printing files are available at The Pirate Bay. Turns out that the site's "physibles" category has been available for over a year.
I think this demonstrates the totally logical link between the possibilities of 3D printing and the anti-copyright ideal. Digital has technology allowed for the infinite and cheap duplication of music and video, and sites like The Pirate Bay have developed to help with the illegal distribution of those files. With such infrastructure and the norms of file sharing in place, 3D printing simply removes the limitation of reproduction that it remain in a digital space. Users could concievably download and print duplicates of vinyl records.
Of course, users won't be limited to duplicating copyrighted works in the already disrupted fields of music and movies, which means that viable and widely used 3D printing has the potential to disrupt just about any industry that makes and sells physical objects.
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