Commodities

One of the results of the availability of nanotechfactories is the commoditization of many tools and devices. In Highland culture a commodity may best be defined as an economic good which has no quantitative differentiation across markets, i.e. it is fungible. In the case of created goods, that is technological objects as opposed to commodity resources such as minerals, agricultural products and other raw materials, it is the combination of nanotechnology and Intellectual Property Law which has resulted in commoditization.
Basically under Highland law the issuance of patents and copyright is severely limited as compared to the I.P. practices of the Progressive Era. Many types and classes of devices are excluded from patents entirely. Software is entirely unpatentable, although patterns and blueprints used by nanotechfactories may be copyrighted. Reports, liturgical works and performance media cannot be copyrighted, though properties like songs and plays, as well as written works may be, by the author, composer or song writer.
Copyright law in the Highlands allows for a single 15 year period of copyright during which the author of a work may have sole right over their work. This includes the licensing, but not sale of the copyright. Copyrights terminate upon the death of the owner.
Patents are even more limited, as items to be patented must be new, useful and non-obvious. Biological process, breeder designs and drugs cannot be patented. Patents are held for 10 years and cover products from the time the patent is registered.
Anything not under patent or copyright is considered in the public domain. The vast library of nanotechfactory patterns in the public domain may be used by anyone to manufacture commodity devices. Of course the typical Highland citizen is unlikely to own a nanotechfactory, with the possible exception of a food factory in their kitchen and possibly a small handyman's minifac. So throughout the Highlands it is much more likely that a Highlander will buy commodity products produced locally by a general fabrications establishment than that they will produce it themselves.
Cost of such devices is typically the price of the raw stock needed for the device and overhead for the fabricator. This makes commodity prices very low compared to the pre-nanotech era. For example a smartphone in the Progressive Era could cost up to a Parliament (about US$1000.) A CMC, the modern TLA equivalent which has many more features, can typically be had for P0.25 (US$250). Clothing, created by a fabric extruder nanotechfactory, is even cheaper than the twenty-first century equivalent, even though made of smart material and containing many enhancements not possessed by the heavily trademarked and patented Progressive Era clothing.
Typically art, excluding writing and the written scripts, music and lyrics, are not protected by copyright or other intellectual property laws. That means that performance artists are limited in their ability to record a performance and suck continuing value out of said performance. Artist may charge to view their work, be it the physical work of a painter or sculpture, or a particular performance, be it dramatic, comedic or musical, but recorded performances are not protected. This has resulted in the collapse of the media empires of the Progressive Era and the flourishing of both amateur and professional theater.
This has also resulted in the increase of patronage in all of the arts, not just in the support of artists by the very wealthy, but also through the voluntary support of designers, artists and performers through private donations. I can't but a copy of a recording artists performance, well I can, but I can also download or make a copy for free, however I can also donate to them because I like and appreciate their performance and want them to be able to afford to continue to perform.
A whole culture of such benefactors and patronage exists in the Highlands and there is a notable portion of workers, not just in the arts, but also in other fields who subsist on patronage rather than conventional employment.