The IP implications of 3D printing

In the April 2010 issue of SCRIPTed, there is a very interesting article by Simon Bradshaw, Adrian Bowyer and Patrick Haufe entitled “The Intellectual Property Implications of Low-Cost 3D Printing“. This will certainly be an important area of the law in the near future. In that article, the authors conclude that:

“Indeed, it is clear that – within the UK at least – personal use of 3D printing technology does not infringe the majority of IP rights. Registered design and patent explicitly exempt personal use, trade mark law has been interpreted as doing so, and UDR is only applicable to commercial use. There is no such exemption for copyright, but the CDPA 1988 has been interpreted so as to provide numerous instances where copyright does not subsist for certain 3D items or is substantially shortened. Furthermore, the experience of music copyright is that purely local and personal infringements (e.g. format shifting from CD to MP3) are in practice impractical to pursue. Many attractive uses of a 3D printer, such as to make spare parts, are in any case likely to be permitted by specific legal exceptions. It thus appears that the legal environment, in the UK at least, is surprisingly favourable towards the use of low-cost 3D printers for personal, and even in many cases commercial, purposes.”

Contrast this with the following story sent in by J. Netherland, a SCRIPTed reader, who has agreed to allow us to reproduce his story in the blog.

“The article by Simon Bradshaw, Adrian Bowyer and Patrick Haufe concerning 3D printing  and with the mention of automobiles and property rights hit me close to home. Years ago I owned and operated a small coachbuiding shop. A man brought an earlier model Ford to me for repair. A truck had backed into his vehicle and crushed the trunk lid beyond any reasonable repair. I called around to auto salvage yards and there were no parts available. One of the salvage yard owners said that he saw the part I needed at a Ford dealer. This dealer was a few blocks from where I was located . I called about the part and since it was older and difficult to obtain, the dealer put a high cost on the item.

Since the outer part was basically a simple compound curve with flanged edges and the inner support structure could easily be repaired, I decided to construct the outer panel myself, the vehicles owner agreed to my fee and I commenced work.

A few days later , I had mounted the support structure and was in the middle of gauging the flanges when an employee from the Ford dealership while passing by my shop noticed what I was working on. He came in and during casual conversation inquired if this was the vehicle that I had been part hunting for. A few hours later, a lawyer handed me a a cease and desist order and a court summons.

To shorten this dialogue, I was ordered by the court to stop work on the vehicle and the Ford dealer stated that he was representing the interests of the Ford Corporation’s Intellectual Property and to stop the construction of counterfeit Ford parts for sale at a commercial enterprise.At court, the judge ruled that since the automobile manufacturers were only required to make/have replacement parts available for seven years after the original date of manufacture of any model vehicle and since that the vehicle and part in question is over ten years old, for all intents and purposes, with the exception of any badge displaying the company’s copyrighted logo, the vehicle and it’s parts have passed into public domain,…therefore any other part can be created in the part’s original image for repair or reconstruction or likewise, can be modified to suit the owner’s personal tastes.

So, depending on how the lawyer presents his/her case and depending on which judge one gets and how any law is interpreted will make many legal cases have to stand on their own merits. This is what is happening with many of the music and movie pirating situations….”

What a fascinating glimpse into the future. What will happen when we can print our own car parts?

If you’re interested in reading more about what the 3D printing future may look like, Cory Doctorow’s Makers is a great read.