CNET/Shapeways
Final Fantasy figurines
Joaquin Baldwin's Final Fantasy Seven figurines caused quite a stir after they became available on Shapeways.
One of the burning issues 3D Printing is how intellectual property rights apply in a world where people can scan and print almost anything at the touch of a button.
After designer, Joaquin Baldwin painstakingly recreated 26 models from one of the greatest video games of all time, Final Fantasy VII, he decided to get them 3D printed by Shapeways. The collection of bespoke figurines are beautifully crafted, from the eye of a great designer who knows what people want.
All well and good until he started turning a profit and getting a lot of coverage, Square Enix the creators of the Final Fantasy franchise got wind of these bootleg models and sent Joaquin a takedown notice.
Everybody booed Square Enix but seeing as they own the rights and make their own models was anyone surprised?
Having a big bad lawyer protect your IP is all well and good but what about the designers out there who are making new pieces and having them stolen? People like Dizingof, who has waged war with 3D Systems and Stratasys for using his designs in their ad campaign. How can the little guy secure their designs in this one-click world? Fabulonia have the answer.
We featured the company a while back, when they were gearing up to show off their kit at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. Since then the firm have moved on significantly and are proud to launch their latest product FabSecure.
”Fabulonia provides the whole 3D printing business solution for storing, licensing, distributing and selling 3D designs online and streaming them to a 3D printer. It turns 3D originals into new revenue streams, using FabSecure streaming servers, and embedded 3D printer security software.” explains Kimmo Isbjörnssund, CEO of Fabulonia and continues:
”Companies can even create their own 3D printers with embedded copyright security. What’s great about this is that it provides alternatives, not restrictions. FabSecure technology preserves the creative freedom of consumers, as well as how they use their printers. It provides them with an easy and legal way to purchase and make originals. Old, hacked, and unpopular DRM schemes are no longer the only way to monetize your copyrighted content.”
Basically their software means the end user will never actually have the design, meaning they will not be able to manipulate it and/or use it without the say so of the designer.
As the world strives to find a solution for the intellectual property rights issues surrounding the digital age, Fabulonia may have cracked it in the 3D printing sphere.
