Yargh! Piracy and Intellectual Property in the 3D-Printing Era
Counterfeiting is the world’s second-oldest profession. An estimated $220 million of U.S. currency is counterfeit. By comparison, according to the OECD, about 2.5 percent of goods, or $461 billion, are fake.
- Michael Petch for Redshift September 23rd, 2016
- Source: https://redshift.autodesk.com/3d-printing-intellectual-property/
When it comes to counterfeiting, the usual items come to mind: handbags, clothing, toys, and money. Indeed, the ease of counterfeiting currency with 2D inkjet printing led one Secret Service agent to lament forgery as a “lost art.” But now that 3D printing is increasingly used to produce goods ranging from airplane parts to fine art, a whole new market is ripe for fakery.
Fortunately for 3D printing and intellectual-property rights, a few companies and scholars are already on the case.
