Quote Originally Posted by awerby View Post
The STL file is also protected, but its protection is not as encompassing until it's fixed in some material form; until that point, individual nations can legislate differently about how intangible objects might be protected. Of course, there are other forms of protection for the intellectual property embodied in physical objects as well, such as trademarks, trade dress, and design patents.
If you are intrested about the kind of protection that a STL file could receive, I recomend this material. It is, indeed, a controversial subject: http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/...vol71/iss1/14/