Piracy of the future
So, living in Sweden probably has everyone acquainted with a site called The Pirate Bay. Also if you’ve ever been southern or eastern Europe you’re probably familiar with counterfeit products. Now, as I predicted a couple of posts back that this decade will be the decade when 3D printers come out and people design their own stuff. But, there is definitely a market for designed products in the future. But the second but, every design can be downloaded to the printer and you easily print a fake Alessi toilet brush if you want. Surely the design must be protected by all sorts of IPR, but so is music and movies and still people download them like crazy.
Now, if you are a product designer, shed a little tear or rejoice, which ever is your stance on the subject…
…here comes The Product Bay! As soon as the future starts, they will start sharing designs for people to print in their homes!