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Paramount Cease and Desist Targets 3D Printer ‘Pirate’

Movie studio Paramount are adept at sending out cease and desist notices, having engaged in the activity for many years. However, while the vast majority are related to solely digital activities such as the unauthorized distribution of movies and TV shows, a recent takedown notice has a very interesting ‘real-world’ twist – the recreation of a physical object from digital data.

As the world is introduced to new technology, things that were previously thought impossible become an everyday occurrence. Telling someone a few hundred years ago that you could deliver a letter to someone on the other side of the world in under a second would result in a rather warm encounter with a stake, yet now with the advent of email its a rather boring event.

Similarly, the developing movie and music industries could not have envisioned their hefty inflammable film reels and cumbersome wax phonograph cylinders being subjected to the same treatment. Times and capabilities change, and with that come new challenges for existing business models.

While the movie industry frets over modern-day illicit digital access to its movies, another relatively small but important front has just opened – the unauthorized amateur creation of related merchandising. These items aren’t being mass-produced by sweat-shops in the Far East, but by creative individuals utilizing the latest in cutting-edge replication equipment – 3D printers.

One such individual, Todd Blatt, a mechanical engineer from Baltimore, offers some rather interesting items featured in the movie Inception, such as the spinning top used by lead character Cobb to test reality.

Blatt makes digital models of the items he sees in movies and sends them off to 3D printing site Shapeways. They recreate the items in a range of materials from plastic to metal and offer them for sale online.

But while the Inception items appear to have flown under the radar, a model Blatt made of another movie prop grabbed the attention of a rather large movie studio.

3d pirateOn June 8th Blatt announced on theRPF.com movie prop fansite that he was recreating the distinctive cube-shaped items from the Stephen Spielberg movie ‘Super 8‘. On June 9th he uploaded the files to Shapeways.

By June 10th, Blatt had received unwelcome contact from Hollywood lawyers and all his posts on theRPF were quickly edited out. [Art Andrews, owner of theRPF asked us to point out that Blatt edited his own posts, the site's operators had no part in that]

“Paramount Pictures’ lawyers sent me a cease and desist letter on Friday for a model I uploaded on Thursday night, and told me to take it down,” Blatt explained.

“It was a replica white funky cube shaped object from their new movie. I complied. I don’t want to sit in a courtroom for the rest of the year. I am no longer offering these for sale, and am complying with Paramount’s demands.”


The object in Super 8

Super8movieclip

“It’s purely just a fan creation and only one exists, which I ordered for myself before receiving the C&D letter,” Blatt explains. “There is a company called Quantum Mechanix (QMx) which will be selling licensed replicas soon, and if you’re a fan you should order one from them.”

Sending a cease and desist for this kind of item produced in this fashion is certainly unusual, but it raises interesting points. Currently only creative people like Todd Blatt who are skilled at design by trade are easily able to replicate a complex design. Equally, only companies like Shapeways can pull off the hardware side with the required cost-effective ease.

However, just as technology eventually morphed to allow physical film reels and waxy cylinders to be transmitted and reproduced by anyone, in their own homes and with close to zero training, history tells us that we should be prepared for further surprises.

We will all have 3D printers connected to our computers in the not too distant future but when Star Trek-style replicators have already whetted the appetite, man won’t be happy until science-fiction becomes science fact.

Hollywood created the replicator, but will they and other rightsholders be able to kill it? Only stricter copyright laws can provide the solution, or so they would have us believe.

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  • Xult

    This all getting too sci-fi.
    Capn kirk and crowd not allowed to use phasers due to copyright infringement.
    darth Vader wins.
    Under copysight restrictions.
    Luke Skywalker banned from using lasersword.

  • Xult

    This all getting too sci-fi.
    Capn kirk and crowd not allowed to use phasers due to copyright infringement.
    darth Vader wins.
    Under copysight restrictions.
    Luke Skywalker banned from using lasersword.

    • Bryan

      Not really, they guys is making a model of movie props in a program like Cinema 4D and having a company use a CNC machine cut the item out of a block of plastic based on the proportions in the model. It’s pretty simple and is how pretty much everything else is made. The companies are basically saying, “You cannot replicate props that we use in our movies.” Well, how many replica LotR swords and replica lightsabers and replica this and replica that have we seen over the years? This is no different.

      • Catty Nebulart

        Meh you can get a 3-D printer for under 1000$, or even under 500$ if you are willing to do more work for it. Then all you need is a 3d model of the object and we already know how ‘easy’ it is to get files of the Internet.

        Most replica’s are made under license, but there is a lot of variation in national laws on how IP laws interact with this kind of technology.

        http://reprap.org

    • http://slyck.com/ zbeast

      Hmm I wonder in star trek universe if they have DRM on there Replicators

  • Xult

    This all getting too sci-fi.
    Capn kirk and crowd not allowed to use phasers due to copyright infringement.
    darth Vader wins.
    Under copysight restrictions.
    Luke Skywalker banned from using lasersword.

  • dethwsh

    What a wuss. They don’t own any patents or rights to that shape. Nor do I think they would ever be awarded such a patent. Sell those shapes just call it something different and place a cube out of order (if it’s a perfect replica of the movie object). One small difference is all you need. KIRF it.

    • Ven

      And this has been done in the replica business for decades.

  • http://profiles.google.com/orfetheo Orfeas Theofanis

    why the heck is it illegal to sell something like that?

    • Jeroen

      Because it’s illicit to redistribute vibrating thingies in some states…

    • Anonymous

      No idea. I doubt you can copyright/patent a shape any more than you can do so for a colour or a number. I mean could some person claim they own a circle, square or hexagon? No…

      One thing I am totally sure of is that had he painted it a different colour then that would totally invalidate their every claim when it then appears totally different to their version. He could change the size as well and +50% would invalidate their claim a second time.

      I would still say they have no ownership claim here though when anyone can make their own version had they wanted.

      The key point is then no one is then allowed to sell their creation as an approved Super 8 original when that moves into counterfeiting. So if they desire to mention the film they always have to state replica.

      • chaos

        Patenting colors ? That’s already being done (http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/11/04/beware-t-mobile-owns-the-color-magenta/)
        Patenting a circle? Possible for sure, if you find a confusing enough definition for a circle so that a person couldn’t tell it actually is a circle. “patent trolling” is the keyword here. People have already been patenting wheels, so basically a circle shouldn’t be that much of a problem…

        • Xult

          Pantone!

        • Anonymous

          Even if T-Mobile did own Magenta then easy to bypass it.

          Computers work on 32 bit colours and the human eye can only see 24 bit colour allowing 8 bits or 64 colours that are physically different but what are seen as identical to the human eye. So just find out the 32 bit colour code of T-Mobile’s Magenta and adjust this code by just 1 bit either way. Looks the same but physically a different colour.

          I expect they have more protected their logo than the colour scheme.

        • Donotreply

          http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/83983

          Not a legal reference however it does mention that you can use a color provided it ain’t used for the same purpose as the original item (Cadbury Purple on Chocolate for example would land you in hot water; using it for the color of your car is perfectly fine though).

          More to do with protection from market confusion and counterfeiting than a copyright on a color. I particularly like Violated0′s idea of using a 1 bit different color for computer use though you might need to go out a little further (a slight shade lighter/darker) to make the different color more obvious for printed materials (if only to avoid time and finances wasted in the courts).

      • Gypsy Eyes FLT

        Tiffany & Co own the patenton the color used for their bags…

  • http://www.mafiaafire.com MAFIAAFire

    Well, the movie sucked space-alien and monkey **lls, so now paramount is trying to match it by sucking which it comes to new tech.

    Nothing new really… almost like Beta max to the Boston strangler …

    • http://www.mafiaafire.com MAFIAAFire

      Oops, I meant “WHEN it comes to new tech.”

  • AlyssaBlindy

    What the? Um, this is, quite an interesting development.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jordan.kratz Jordan Kratz

    the MAFIAA will not quit !!!
    someone get a bat and take out the trash

  • blah blah blo

    Sure, copywrong tries to kill innovation.. nothing new to see here folks. Still ridiculously annoying, but not surprising. What we need is reasonable judges to exercise a little something we used to call ‘common sense’. Of course, we now should call it ‘uncommon sense’, as it is rare, indeed.

  • http://www.facebook.com/mwonch Michael Wonch

    Well, here I must support the Hollywood Machine. As of this moment, that specific “cube” is unique to Super 8. Unique things like that usually are used for merchandising (which is usually split with the actors/creative staff as well as the Company). As such, Paramount indeed has every right to stop this particular creation and subsequent sales.

    The “Inception top” (et al) can be openly purchased, since it was not a creation of Hollywood and it predates the film (even if it’s being billed as being replicated exclusively from the film). Huge difference.

    Good point, however, about the Trek-style replicators. Imagine if it ever does come to pass; the real world would be all up in arms. Everyone would be upset: authors, musicians, sculptors, painters, any merchandiser, actors, filmmakers, anyone who manufactures anything, maybe even God. Farmers might also be pissed, since champagne and strawberries (etc) could be easily had free of charge. One could argue that today’s real world would actually fight against the elimination of hunger through such technology.

    Heck, if TRANSPORTER tech, as imagined by Roddenberry, was ever made a reality, governments would probably ban it because it might be used to clone humans (which is illegal in most nations right now).

    More than likely, we’ll have an Asimov reality; so relax. All’s good! Or…at least…status quo.

    • Haxor

      so holly wood then makes movies with every shape and design and guess what you cant do nothing? YUP killer….and when the giant asteroid does come were all doomed cause …of hollywood

    • Ven

      Replicators would be able to copy everything, removing the need for anything (except your replicator). At that point, money becomes worthless and there is no longer a need or reason to offer your creative goods for sale.

      Actually, I will argue that replicators will never exist for personal use, because there is zero incentive for offering them to the public. They would be made and licensed for use to duplicate large numbers of product. The few people that owned them wouldn’t legally be allowed to duplicate anything without the creator’s permission. Their costs would be so low that the governments wouldn’t have a problem forcing them to foot the bill for the government keeping tabs on them.

      • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

        Say you have a machine that can print high-quality metal objects — say you print out a gun… or a knife…

        I think you’re right, there will need to be some kind of regulation. Maybe the software itself will be able to recognize a weapon or weapon part and simply refuse to print it.

        Very interesting stuff!

        • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

          But then again, there’s no law saying you can’t MAKE a weapon, is there? Only laws that regulate the distribution of weapons. Hmm…

        • Scary Devil Monastery

          “Maybe the software itself will be able to recognize a weapon or weapon part and simply refuse to print it.”

          As almost every tool can be easily adapted to fit some form of weapon you just invalidated the legal basis of the consumer society.
          I can build a relatively potent bomb out of everyday household appliances obtainable in most supermarkets. I could probably make a decent machine gun out of sheet metal and average industrial parts (google “the STEN gun”) with no more advanced aids than a workbench and standard tools.

          It follows that any software capable of “recognizing” “weapon parts” will by default also disallow the equivalent of baking soda, bleach, screwdrivers and tongs.

        • Ven

          What I meant by regulation would be large industry regulation like we see for Microsoft or Google. The few giant companies that own replication equipment would be limited to random commercial duplication and government contract duplication.

          They would have to have each customer and order approved before duplication.

        • Scary Devil Monastery

          @Ven

          “The few giant companies that own replication equipment would be limited to random commercial duplication and government contract duplication.”

          Much like computers then, not so long ago…oh, wait. They’re everywhere these days.

          It’s a given that replication equipment will become commonplace. The only “hard” limits is the cost of raw material – printing your own computer or car might very well be feasible, not to mention a lot cheaper than purchasing a finished product.
          But given the materials limitation it follows that this will be restricted to enthusiasts in a way copying digital data isn’t.

          That’s where you’ll find the limit, no where else. Trying to regulate any mature technology in law is going to end up just like when the french tried restricting the printing press.

      • http://twitter.com/popemadmitch Justin Mitchell

        Read ‘Kiosk’ by Bruce Sterling, it is a tale of how one person getting hold of secret military grade replicator/3d printer machine sparks of a disruptive revolution.

        Then for another point of view theres Neal Stephensons – The Diamond Age, where replicators are household items, but people buy the IP rights to use a specific design pattern.

        • Ven

          I’ve read the first one, and have heard of the second actually. The problems with those books (and books like them) is that the background regarding the invention and mass production of duplication devices is weak and/or non-existent.

          They just assume standard historical procedure regarding the design and production of a product, and don’t consider the specific roadblocks that would arise in development.

  • Pingback: The IP War on 3D Printing Begins

  • Xult

    Fuck the cube..
    oops i have now upset the Borg

  • I spaffed in your hair

    Of course you can copyright shapes colors and even words. Donald Trump owns the phrase “You’re fired” UPS owns the copyright for the color brown.

    I don’t think they would of had a problem if the things he was doing were for free or as prizes, some guy made a replica of the portal gun and gave away 5 copies and the makers of Portal didn’t care.

    Chances are with this is, Paramount saw there was am opportunity to make some money and decided to shut this guy down to make their own.

    • http://www.xbomber.co.uk/ Crash

      Valve are supposed to be quite a reasonable-minded company as well as a great games developer. That’s what I’ve always heard. I would be disappointed if they suddenly started firing legal letters to their greatest fans.

      • Anonymous

        Valve innovate to make money.

        Something Hollywood doesn’t seem to understand or want to do.

        • Scary Devil Monastery

          Because Valve not only innovates but actively uses the “pirate” base to recruit paying customers as well they’d be idiots to start sending lawsuits.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FCNK7C55CBUYFVSC5LNWKB322E Buglord

        valve makes things because they like making them.. they also like making hats, which they do get a bit of money from too.. while most other game devs go “how can we protect this game from pirates?” valve goes “lets make some more hats or other optional items people can buy for tf2..” or “how can we make this game more interesting?” while I’m on the subject, riot probably goes “how can we fix this?!!”

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FCNK7C55CBUYFVSC5LNWKB322E Buglord

        valve makes things because they like making them.. they also like making hats, which they do get a bit of money from too.. while most other game devs go “how can we protect this game from pirates?” valve goes “lets make some more hats or other optional items people can buy for tf2..” or “how can we make this game more interesting?” while I’m on the subject, riot probably goes “how can we fix this?!!”

    • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

      The key here is that he was selling them. There’s nothing legally unusual about this story other than the [alleged] perpetrator’s means of production.

      • http://ffejery.wordpress.com/ Jeffery MacEachern

        That’s a fair point. I have to wonder whether he would have had as much trouble if he had just posted the design as opposed to selling it through ShapeWays…

        • http://ffejery.wordpress.com/ Jeffery MacEachern

          …or for that matter, how that decision might have affected his chances at fighting it if he had tried to do so.

        • http://ffejery.wordpress.com/ Jeffery MacEachern

          …or for that matter, how that decision might have affected his chances at fighting it if he had tried to do so.

    • Anonymous

      “Donald Trump owns the phrase “You’re fired”"

      I thought he failed to actually prove he could “own” the phrase.

  • http://www.xbomber.co.uk/ Crash

    Super 8, there’s a film I now won’t be paying to see.

    • Xult

      Theres a film i wont be bothering to see!

      • Guest

        Me too, it looks like pure garbage.

      • Anonymous

        Maybe we need to vote it all the way down on imdb.

        • Guest

          Yeah that should give you a bigger e-peen right?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Sean-Brazell/100002034890242 Sean Brazell

    This is sure to be the first in a new era of intellectual property lawsuits…as 3d printers get more sophisticated, miniaturized and cheap, people will eventually be able to buy one, and it’ll become like having a microwave or a dishwasher. What’s fascinating (and more than a little bit disturbing) is that the sharing of data will allow people to build anything they could imagine – from an ash tray to, eventually, a replacement liver. It, obviously, won’t be theft in the traditional sense, but it WILL be the first time where physical objects will become the center of intellectual property lawsuits, instead of criminal theft. In particular, I’d be worried about the way they may use stolen property and receipt of stolen property as a weapon against us.

    It’ll fit right in to a place like the Silk Road though, I’m sure.

    • Xult

      I would like to see what would happen when I stub fag out in a 3D ashtray.
      I think i will continue to stub it out on aboved mentioned cube.

  • Anonymous

    Just realised I stopped bothering to pirate Hollywood films a while back.

    Not because I believe it’s wrong, but because they’re shit and not worth watching, even for free.

    • Guest

      That is also happening to me.

    • Anon

      I’m at the same point now. CGI has become a replacement for good films.

    • Guest

      I think Hollywood movies are becoming better than ever now. I used to watch old movies earlier but with so many good movies released in the last couple of years, I am completely occupied with new movies only these days and I can honestly say these new movies give me greater satisfaction than any old movie ever has.

      • Asd

        Bahahahahaha I couldn’t even read through that with a straight face.

        That was pretty good man

    • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

      The ultimate defense against piracy! Just make crappy movies!

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FCNK7C55CBUYFVSC5LNWKB322E Buglord

      I have a theory: when you can no longer make money of something by selling it, only those who care about quality will be left to make any of it, those will get money from donations, because many people will feel it’s worth something.
      this theory goes for games, music, movies and alike (also furniture)

  • Pingback: P2PTalk » Paramount Cease and Desist Targets 3D Printer ‘Pirate’

  • Anonymous

    Well i think it’s the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard. Did they really get a pattent on this shape before the movie? Because if people had all seen it already you can’t. Actually if anyone can find this shape anywhere in the history of mankind their claim is invalid. Movie props, copyrighted? LOL Do they expect me to remove my fake propulsion from my Delorean?

    http://www.newsgroupdirect.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/delorean1.jpg

    • Ven

      It’s all merchandise, covered legally by tiny print at the end of the credits. If they can take it to court and show it is the kind design that could be awarded a copyright, trademark, or patent, and they can bitch-slap people for trying to sell them unlicensed.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IZ5BM5GNLA54OADSWGSXAMA7SY Jay

    This C&D order makes about as much sense as copyright law.

  • Ct

    it is an interesting debate – but in the age of social, wouldn’t paramount be smarter to embrace fans and their creativity. instead of a lame legal move they could have made him the poster child for people who love show and asked him to create a promotion for them and promote it – in a day of social the better strategy is embracing your fans creativity vs stifling it. it is very counterproductive to brand building and customer loyalty to drop a legal notice. they have certainly now stopped people from talking about the movie and propelling content about it. if that was the objective then job well done.

    • Anonymous

      No…they wouldn’t, you stupid fuck. Tehre is No business model that involves allowing others to give away a product or sell it cheaper when you are planning on selling hte same product. You don’t allow others to take your creative work and sell it alongside your own. That is just fucking stupid.

      • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

        Jeez, no need to be mean.

      • Anonymous

        Actually, you stupid f*ck, there is a business model that does just that. Apps for smartphones. The actual app makers can sell the apps on there own websites cheaper (and usually do) than in any app store. iOS and Android being the main two OSes that use said apps. Also, the Amazon App Store gives away one free app a day (usually it is normally a paid app and they tend to be big popular apps that do rake in the dough for the creators). So by default what you just said is f*cking stupid. Obviously you’re uninformed. Because as I just pointed out, that’s 4 separate groups selling the same app at the same time with one selling it cheaper and another giving it away free (sometimes). The creator directly sells it. iOS and Android App Store/Market sell it. Amazon App Store sells it (and if you’re lucky is giving it away freely that day). Not to mention the plethora of other stores/markets that also sell those same apps. Cydia on iOS. AppBrain and App Planet on Android. So there are even more places to find the same exact app, at or near the same price as the official source (official being a relative term because some might call the iOS App Store/Android Market official, while another might say the creator’s website being the official source).

        Please don’t speak again, you’re ignorance is so enormous it’s boggling my mind.

        • Scary Devil Monastery

          I have to say the same thing people usually tell me when i post replies on my regular forums: “Why are you bothering the poor troll? Can’t you see he’s so much happier spouting nonsense when he isn’t confronted with fact?”

          Pity the lakawak guy instead. Either he’s spouting rubbish for free in which case i pity him. Or he’s actually getting paid in which case i strongly suspect i earn more than he does – because my job tends to involve knowing things about complex interactions. As is the case for most of the savvy and more eloquent “pirates”.

        • Anonymous

          True. I just really hate when people post things like that. Especially when there’s evidence to the contrary of what they’re saying. I too have a job that requires me knowing about lots of things. Actually 3 jobs (all part time). 1 is a tech job so maybe that’s why I went off, because tech’s always on the forefront of my mind and that example came easily to me. But, I also don’t like his rude attitude. There’s young people who visit this site. They shouldn’t be subjected to his profanity and anger.

          I do know better than to reply to the trolls. I usually don’t. But lately… I don’t know. I just seem to have gotten to my limit as far as letting ‘em slide.

      • Donotreply

        “Loss leader” sale item

        https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Loss_leader

        Giving away the cube with some printed words on it (and the websites where the items plans are located) to say what movie the item appears equals free advertising of the movie (give away the cube to advertise the movie and potential sales of cinema seats or DVD/BRs/etc.).

      • Asd

        You actually do. It’s called advertising. It’s called building the brand. You allow people to use your intellectual “property” because the more people talk and share about that “property” the more recognition and fanfare it receives. It’s not a complicated business model. It works and it works well. MS Office line of products is only prevalent today because everyone pirated the fuck out of it for years. So when those people went out and god jobs, guess which software they all knew how to use? Guess which software many, many companies had to move towards?

        Companies working in media/ent/software are suckers for the potential for short term gain over long term. They are slow to catch on to the benefits of new technology. You, however, are a moron.

      • Asd

        You actually do. It’s called advertising. It’s called building the brand. You allow people to use your intellectual “property” because the more people talk and share about that “property” the more recognition and fanfare it receives. It’s not a complicated business model. It works and it works well. MS Office line of products is only prevalent today because everyone pirated the fuck out of it for years. So when those people went out and god jobs, guess which software they all knew how to use? Guess which software many, many companies had to move towards?

        Companies working in media/ent/software are suckers for the potential for short term gain over long term. They are slow to catch on to the benefits of new technology. You, however, are a moron.

        • Ven

          I disagree, only because I don’t think specific movies have the staying power to need a long-term fanbase. Look at full-length animated features: several decades ago, they were works of art designed to tell classic stories. They were timeless classics.

          Now we have Pixar films which, while hilarious, generally lack the timelessness of the real classics. They make money in only a few places: initial theater showings, DVD release, and merchandise. Allowing people to sell non-licensed merchandise to boost DVD and ticket sales will not outweigh the profit you could make on licensed merchandise.

          There is little need to brand specific movies.

    • http://www.xbomber.co.uk/ Crash

      I think this is the problem with this Abrams guy. He seems to be more into viral marketing and the vain application of lens flares.
      This is the guy who after all said ‘make the Enterprise more like a hot rod’ for Star Trek.
      I don’t think common sense runs on his operating system.

      • Puddleduck07

        “I don’t think common sense runs on his operating system.”

        LOL! :D

      • Scary Devil Monastery

        Ah. He’s using Vista. Common sense.exe tends to be blocked by the quarantine policy. And if you force it to run you get a BSOD.

  • Anonymous

    More cluelessness from torrentfreak.,

    Torrentfreak will LONG be just a bad memory of the internet by the time “we all have 3D printers”

    • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

      There’s plenty of talk out there about the future of on-demand production. It’s a very real (and smart) possibility. You, sir, are the one that needs a clue.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_V7VDZ5GW7EPEZNU7Y6M66BMLKY zar

      Wow! A true grade-a fuckhead! I thought they’d all been battered into submission by the cluestick by now. Guess I’m just an optimist…

      /takesphotoofdoltforposterity.

  • http://modmyi.com/forums/iphone-4-new-skins-themes-launches/740147-neurotech-hd.html#post5637502 Jay

    Cool! I can make that box in Rhino in probably a few hours (I’ve printed 3D objects before). If anyone here wants to pay me I’ll make the box and you can take the files to whatever printing company you want.

    See, you’re not paying for the object, only my service – easy enough to get around THAT one :)

  • R.

    We’re closer than you’d think – you can buy a 3D printer for $1300. Admittedly quite pricey, but far more accessible than you’d think.

    http://store.makerbot.com/

    • Anon

      buy one? I’ve maid one myself for under 500$

      Best part is, I can make a new one by printing on the old one!

      • anon

        typo

        ^*made

  • http://disqus.com/ Rob8urcakes

    The TF headline reads “Paramount Cease and Desist Targets 3D Printer ‘Pirate’ ” well check this out guys,
    http://chazhome.com/images/Wanted_Printer.gif

    It’s in an old 2008 article that appeared on Chaz’s blog “When Pig’s Fly” and the article is titled “How To Frame a Printer For Copyright Infringement” which can be spied on here -
    http://mc4bbs.livejournal.com/181714.html

    As for Paramount, and their MAFIAA friends in HollowWoodenHead, I’m guessing their heading for another Court case to face charges of “Crimes Against Humanity” for holding back human development due to their stupid insistence on copywrong laws and patent trolling.

    Fuck off and die MAFIAA – human society doesn’t NEED you, and we certainly don’t WANT you.

    Sharing IS Caring.

    • Anon

      Yeah nobody needs the MAFIAA and yet when it comes to the movies they produce, people all over the world download them as if they need to see their movies to literally survive.

      You sir should stuff your mouth & throat with cakes and die of suffocation because nobody will miss your absence but the pirate society obviously can’t have enough of Hollywood movies, so I reckon MAFIAA can stay.

      • Anonymous

        You shouldn’t be so angry and say things like you just do. It definitely does not make people want to be associated with you or your side of the argument/debate. And I’ve noticed way more of the pro-copyright/anti-piracy crowd are saying things like you just did. It gives a negative vibe to your “cause”. While hurting it in the long run. People who are undecided on the issue see things like what you wrote and think “this is the kind of person on this side of the argument? yeah i’m against that then”. Think before you speak please. Also, this site isn’t just visited by adults. Younger people come here and I think it’d be in ALL our best interest to try and spare them from seeing such comments. Try and be a little more respectful please. And if you can’t, why not go take your own advice “stuff your mouth… nobody will miss your absense”. Think about it.

      • Anonymous

        You shouldn’t be so angry and say things like you just do. It definitely does not make people want to be associated with you or your side of the argument/debate. And I’ve noticed way more of the pro-copyright/anti-piracy crowd are saying things like you just did. It gives a negative vibe to your “cause”. While hurting it in the long run. People who are undecided on the issue see things like what you wrote and think “this is the kind of person on this side of the argument? yeah i’m against that then”. Think before you speak please. Also, this site isn’t just visited by adults. Younger people come here and I think it’d be in ALL our best interest to try and spare them from seeing such comments. Try and be a little more respectful please. And if you can’t, why not go take your own advice “stuff your mouth… nobody will miss your absense”. Think about it.

      • AB

        Haven’t bought or pirated a movie in at least 2 years now. I boycott them in every way possible.

        Your argument is invalid.

      • http://disqus.com/ Rob8urcakes

        lol
        Gimme some decent well-founded arguments with facts you stupid troll.

        FAIL

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_V7VDZ5GW7EPEZNU7Y6M66BMLKY zar

        MAFIAA don’t produce any movies at all, dimmy.

        Autoflame grade: c-

  • http://matt.west.co.tt/ Matt Westcott

    So when a big high street store rips off someone’s jewellery design on Etsy, the internet goes all vigilante on them, but when it’s the little guy making the unauthorised knock-offs, everyone’s outraged that the Big Nasty Movie Studio is taking a stand against it?

    • Anon

      TF is full of hypocrites and that includes the authors of this site too. Get used to it my friend. This is a site where they try and make Hollywood look bad in any and every way possible and also try to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

      • Anonymous

        The site is just reporting what happened, that’s not trying to make Hollywood look bad. That’s basic reporting. And Hollywood makes themselves look bad. If you don’t know why, why not actually read some of the articles instead of just talking trash. Also, if you don’t like the site then why don’t you avoid it entirely and not comment on it? Also, TF is not full of hypocrites. There are plenty of Hollywood supporters here and plenty of non-Hollywood supporters here.

        You’re making assumptions. And you know what they say about doing that. It makes an a$$ out of you, and only you.

      • Anonymous

        … really.

        So because you SAY TF is full of hypocrites…. IGNORING THAT IT IS NOT A HOMOGENEOUS HIVE MIND….

        never mind, comments like this are usually too idiotic to respond to.

    • Scary Devil Monastery

      If a big street store rips off someone elses design and sells it with an acknowledgement where the design comes from, no problem. That big store will lose in it’s brand value.

      And FYI, the situation today is exactly that save that the big store doesn’t acknowledge credit and the little guy can’t afford the case in court unless the case is extremely clear cut.

      All of which has nothing to do with copyright as what you refer to is a case of Trademark which is completely different.

      It has even less to do with filesharing as there is no one in their right mind who’d try to make a court case of a person walking by the jeweler, copying the design in the showcase in his own workshop, using his own raw materials, and distributing the manufactured product for free to whoever he likes. which is where your comparison completely falls apart.

      If you want to make a pro-copyright case then at least use an example which has anything to do with copyright.

  • http://matt.west.co.tt/ Matt Westcott

    So when a big high street store rips off someone’s jewellery design on Etsy, the internet goes all vigilante on them, but when it’s the little guy making the unauthorised knock-offs, everyone’s outraged that the Big Nasty Movie Studio is taking a stand against it?

  • Anuj Parashar

    hi really good Information and Good site and knowledgeable site.http://www.rlwebsolutions.com/

  • Nirav

    Yes It is such a wonderful information http://www.realtylog.com

  • http://slyck.com/ zbeast

    It’s just a cube, I could build that model in zbrush in about 15min’s have it ready for printing in another 20.. it’s just a cube.

  • Corry

    This story has made me so mad, I’m going to start printing printers for my whole building!

    Fuck you authoritarian assholes

  • Pingback: Hollywood’s Next Big Piracy Fight: Digital Merchandising | HollywoodDaily.us

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  • Pingback: Paramount Cease and Desist Targets 3D Printer `Pirate’ | TorrentFreak | NotSoCrazyNews BETA

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  • MD3

    So, can’t we draw pictures of Mickey mouse and ask for the local copy shop to print them?

    This is going too far!

  • IDIOCRACYs brother

    just add a little difference in the object ( put in a little hole for example) and it is not the same and therefore no copyright violation.

  • Pingback: Copyright en 3D — ALT1040

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  • Pingback: Copyright en 3D | La Isla Buscada

  • LEE

    ASK SMITHSONIAN ABOUT APPROPRIATE USE. -LEE

  • Anonymous

    tinyurl.com/24n4nqb

  • Pingback: Copyright en 3D | Alt1040 | Nueva Tecnología

  • Travis McCrea

    I am pretty sure that Cory Doctorow wrote something about this… *psst… read makers*

  • Guest

    It’s not 3d printing that the film industry is against, as this article implies. They are against other people gaining, without permission, from their hard work and ideas. The film industry loves 3d printing, as witnessed by the success of it’s use in movies such as Coraline.

    Any artist that has to rely on a creative concept that someone else imagined and worked to create a market for, should either pay the price of using it if available, or buck up and stop being lazy enough to rely on the low hanging fruit of plagiarism.

  • Pingback: Paramount gets upset when a bloke 3D Prints a movie prop | 3D Printing is the Future

  • Wizzman6969

    The interesting truth about this is ip and copywrite do not protect against physical objects. Thankfully only patents cover physical objects. Legally the picture company had no real legal right for the takedown but most often it is not worth the legal troubles to fight something where a judge might actualy make a wrong decision.

    Since the whole rapid prototyping wave is extremely new law has not been stabilized for it yet. Files that describe a three d object can have a copywrite but the object it’s self would not be protected from duplication specially if the person printing it created their own files from scratch.

  • lovepuma
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  • Pingback: Hollywood’s Next Big Piracy Fight: Digital Merchandising | UDUAK LAW FIRM

  • 2BOT

    If you are interested in 3D printing, and would like to check out a more affordable alternative, head to http://www.2bot.com/ and and check out 2BOT’s ModelMaker

  • Pingback: Re: Color 3-D Printer « LewRockwell.com Blog

  • Anonymous

    wonder if we’ll ever reach a state of technological advancement where 3D printers will be capable of printing functioning replicas of themselves. Could you imagine setting up a warehouse filled with these things programmed such that each printed iteration omitted a few random (pixels?!) at random coordinates rigged to a production line feeding them back into raw materials and refills other random printers in an infinite feedback loop.spawning mutant printers wherein the functional mutants exist for varying lifespans determined after analysis by complex algorithms capable of rewriting their own functions too..

    How long would it take for sentient printers to evolve and enslave humanity?

    also there are other secret advanced technologies negating all the plot holes within my logic

  • Pingback: Paramount Cease and Desist Targets 3D Printer ‘Pirate’ – TorrentFreak | 3d Printer Site

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  • BTGuard - BitTorrent Anonymously

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