"And if it breaks? You print another for minimal cost." (Image by Jens Gathmann@Wikipedia.)

Now that 3D printers are a reality, the two types of piracy we’ve encountered historically–physical and digital–will combine to form a new means of thievery. From Geek.com:

“Just like pirates today decide to download a movie rather than pay the high theater prices to watch it, pirates of the future will have the option to bypass the cost, and become creators themselves.

The same logic can be applied to many products: why buy the iPad X case when you can download the 3D model someone leaked/stole? Why buy a camera part when it can be printed and glued at home? Not only do you save on the retail price, there’s no shipping to worry about other than your base materials, which can be bought in bulk. And if it breaks? You print another for minimal cost. Obviously materials and 3D printer technology limit this to certain types of products, but that list is only going to expand as 3D printers improve, and, crucially, as more commercial products are made with 3D printers.”