>> As soon as 3d printers will be able to replicate themselves, every regulation will be moot.
> I don't get this. In theory, if it were illegal to print "Item #325" having 200 printers doesn't make it any less illegal to print "Item #325".
It might be illegal. But the law would be unenforceable.
>> Information always finds a way to propagate.
> Doesn't this presuppose that no secret has ever been kept?
Valid point. What I meant is information that is out in the open. The cad files by Defense Distributed where published intentionally. You need a North Korean style regime to significantly slow down the propagation of such material.