Re: WSJ article on Hollywood, proprs and 3D printing
Some of the comments didn't hold back on him, thats for sure. I can understand charging to help keep the onslaught at bay if that was the reason. Have to say, seems a mistake to tell the author he started charging for it. Interesting to see if a C&D arrives at the doorstep or not.
As for the future of it...there's nothing illegal about me going down to home depot and buying everything I need to build out any number of props. I can build whatever I want for myself. The line only gets crossed if I start selling finished copyright product to others ostensibly.
Honestly, i don't see 3D printers getting to the point of being cheaper than ordering from amazon or going to Toys 'r us though for another decade, if then. I'm kind of with the author, laws need to change. You can't use 1920's law in the 21st century - it's really apples and oranges. I'm saying I know what it needs changed to, but it needs updated. If not, i think you're going to see consumer patent trolls for lack of a better term. People buying up licenses that have been defunct decades simply to sue people for infringement.
I disagree with a part of the article though, CD's never really offered any protection at all. If i borrowed a CD, i could easily copy it to tape well before CD writers were available to the public. You could always copy tapes prior to that as well. About what? 5 years after CDR's debuted to the public the price started getting close to what it needed to be to burner everything to disc instead of tape. Even at that it was still lie 5 bucks per CDR. By the time of napster it was still 2ish IIRC.
Where there's a will, there's a way. I'd like to think that perhaps they've learned that the harder they fight it, the harder people wish push back. Start suing everyone under the sun and it'll turn on you, no question.
If you want to take the real premise of the article to be that someday 3d printers will be ubiquitous in homes around the world and it'll be cheaper to print a toy as opposed to buy it, fine. I think toy companies are largely to blame with inflated license prices with 3 3/4" crossing $10 is ridiculous. The point WILL come where it'll take no real talent to make the model. The software exists now where you could take multiple views of a character in a movie and the software can construct a 3D textured model of them. It's not that great in quality, but it's do-able now. Jump ahead 10-15 years and those models should be pretty damn good. The printer will still have to get good enough to paint the model as it's printing, which I can see will eventually happen. The RIAA stopped suing everyone under the sun because it didn't work. They joined the party and worked the system. Toy companies and studios will have to learn to do the same.
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Yes I'm selling the kit files to print your own tfa blaster. MY representation of the blaster. Not a physical product but the digital files. Go onto eBay and type in stormtrooper armor. Fan made props are the studios best friend. Take the 501st... These guys spend hundreds if not thousands of their own cash on top notch prop replicas that help promote a franchise. The article touched on many aspects of 3d printing including the toy market. But when it comes to fan made props I think they view this as a huge asset... Free fan advertisement!
You're very right. However, the powers that be tend to take notice when someone admits to doing so. They very well may do nothing. I can't see it being a dent in their pockets whatsoever. At the same time, you can't be stunned if they elect to do something.
