Cory Doctorow at the 28C3:

The grievances that arose from unauthorized copying are trivial, when compared to the calls for action that our new computer-embroidered reality will create. […]

This was the year in which we saw the debut of open sourced shape files for converting AR-15s to full automatic. This was the year of crowd-funded open-sourced hardware for gene sequencing. And while 3D printing will give rise to plenty of trivial complaints, there will be judges in the American South and Mullahs in Iran who will lose their minds over people in their jurisdiction printing out sex toys. The trajectory of 3D printing will most certainly raise real grievances, from solid state meth labs, to ceramic knives.

This is something I have been mulling over as well: what good is weapons regulation if you can print the stuff at home? What good is Bio regulation if we get to the point of manufacturing living organisms from computer files The fighting over sound and movie files really is just the beginning.