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have a strong enough stomach or big enough bank account to hire their own
attorney and dive into legal battle with Big Corp. End of story.
What if, however, the situation played out another way? What if the toy's
maker, upon receiving the cease and desist letter from Big Corp, decided that
he's not actually in violation of their copyright. Perhaps he would compromise.
He would agree to quit selling the original offending plastic printed toy. Instead,
he would design and sell a new set of printed igures: little plastic igurines
that boast the heads of various presidents from countries all over the globe.
The heads of different presidents will be attached to the bodies of familiar Big
Corp characters. Such design modiications would be quick work with design
software and a 3D printer.
The saga continues. Big Corp is not amused and sends the intrepid toymaker
yet another cease and desist letter. At this point, most people or small busi-
nesses would probably just give up. Most people or businesses can't afford to
sue a giant global corporation and live to tell the tale, particularly if they lose.
The hypothetical saga continues. A philanthropist with a passion for pro-
tecting civil liberties sets up a legal defense fund to address exactly these sorts
of issues. This philanthropist, upon hearing of the case, would step in and
offer to pay legal bills. The person selling the printed igurine is an idealist. He
strongly believes that copyright laws need to be re-zoned in order to provide
a fair and workable framework for 3D printing. He steps up to the challenge
and agrees to push the legal battle against Big Corp into high gear.
What would happen next? We don't know yet. Big Corp would likely weigh
potential legal costs against the relatively tiny dent in sales caused by the toy-
maker's 3D printed igurines. In this case, Big Corp's executives would prob-
ably decide that bad press, plus legal costs, would not be worth a little lost
revenue. If millions of small businesses and consumers started 3D printing
copyrighted toys, however, Big Corp would probably eventually swing into
action. We could replay this hypothetical toy scenario a few different ways. If
the situation involved a 3D printed patented machine part, a similar legal situ-
ation could result.
At the time of this writing, a full blown legal battle over intellectual prop-
erty infringement hasn't yet occurred. Given the legal precedents set by digital
media lawsuits, however, the writing is on the wall. A few quick legal scufles
over intellectual property rights have already taken place.
A youngster in the United Kingdom designed and 3D printed a plastic
replica inspired by one of his brother's action igures. Paramount, the com-
pany that made the action igures, was not pleased. Their attorneys sent a
