BABY, WHO IS CLONING YOU NOW?

Celebrities outraged at pirate body features, demand royalties for their DNA

Dateline: 21 March 2026
Remember the recording industry outrage at pirated music and the file-sharing sub-culture? It was soon eclipsed by wide-scale copying of movies and TV series, easily spread by torrents and mega downloads.
Then came the 3D printing revolution, and it wasn't long before geeks were pirating real things - simply scan them and print out a replica. And if you had one of the fancier machines, you could clone fully-functional electronic gadgets, once you had downloaded the 'maker' file.
But pirating gadgets and fashion labels is one thing; stealing someone's eyes, ears or nose is another matter entirely! Movie stars and models are demanding royalties on their facial features, now that 3D manufacture of human organs is mainstream.
For medical reasons, many celebs have had their complete genome sequenced and stored in the cloud. It was only a matter of time, before Asian hackers unlocked the secrets to beautiful hair, stunning eyes and rugged good looks. Now you can just order your new features on the internet, and they'll be ready for your next surgical safari to Vietnam or Cambodia.
"It's just DNA," says one 'body sculptor' in Shanghai. "You can't copyright that!" But agents for the stars disagree: "Your genetic heritage is unique and belongs to you alone. You can't get more personal than that!"
The lawyers are having a field day. Complicating matters is the fact that these cloned features often have a subtle variation to make them technically different from the original model, and unique in their own right. 'Look and feel' lawsuits are taking on a whole new meaning!
Published: 7 March 2013
Links to related stories
1. 3D printer used to build functioning ear - TG Daily, 21 February 2013
2. Banking your genome - FuturesForum, 19 February 2013
3. What will stem piracy? - MIT Technology Review, 26 February 2013
4. MindBullet: POINT, SHOOT AND PRINT - IN 3D (Dateline 5 July 2015, Published 7 July 2011)
5. MindBullet: SHOULD WE CREATE SUPERMAN - JUST BECAUSE WE CAN? (Dateline 17 May 2025, Published 20 December 2012)
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Comments

Doug Vining

Doug Vining Scan me a clone

MakerBot, one of the leading lights in desktop 3D printing, is also supporting the replication industry with its just-revealed Digitizer, a desktop 3D scanner.

This reminds me so much of the early days of desktop publishing, with the emergence of high quality laser printers, flatbed scanners and publishing software. Now it's 3D printers, 3D scanners and 3D design software. How long before someone comes up with a smartphone app and device that lets the phone camera do the scanning for you? And then you just send the file to your nearest print shop for replication.
A FuturesForum post (titled: "Scan me a clone") refers to this MindBullet. The full FuturesForum post can be read here: http://www.futureworld.org/PublicZone/FuturesForum/BlogDetails.aspx?PostID=c3ee9c3e-dc4f-4db5-b1d4-62173a4b0db4
Posted: 12 March 2013 at 09:49
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Anton Musgrave

Anton Musgrave Bio-printing rushes ahead

The pace of developments in the flied of bio-printing astounds one. Can the ability to print a full human body really be true? Even if the story is only half true the full impact on society will be profound!
A FuturesForum post (titled: "Bio-printing rushes ahead") refers to this MindBullet. The full FuturesForum post can be read here: http://www.futureworld.org/PublicZone/FuturesForum/BlogDetails.aspx?PostID=21e1dd96-5379-4a99-8232-2f8333b03a72
Posted: 12 February 2014 at 18:36
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Doug Vining

Doug Vining Equality is all in the genes, if you can afford it



A FuturesForum post (titled: "Equality is all in the genes, if you can afford it") refers to this MindBullet. The full FuturesForum post can be read here: http://www.futureworld.org/PublicZone/FuturesForum/BlogDetails.aspx?PostID=4538f361-31f1-4b7f-b7f2-f578ae5f99bd
Posted: 10 October 2018 at 09:34
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Bronwyn Williams

Bronwyn Williams Equality is all in the genes, if you can afford it

Japan has just legalized human embryo editing and us not actively encouraging experimentation. Interesting times. No opt out.
Posted: 15 October 2018 at 15:32
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