For decades, science fiction books, television shows and movies have predicted that in the future people would have easy access to “replicator” devices to instantly copy any item they desired.

With the development of three-dimensional scanners and printers, the “replicator” era has arrived, and with it a whole new set of headaches for intellectual property attorneys.

Current technology for 3-D printers has not quite caught up to the depictions of such devices in science fiction. Depending on the size and complexity of the item, printers can take anywhere from several hours to several days or more to create an object. 3-D printers can thus far use only limited materials to create objects. Most consumer models, which may cost between $500 and $2,000, only work with plastic. Sophisticated 3-D printers for science and manufacturing purposes are significantly more expensive. In all cases, users must understand how to work with computer-aided design drawings.