3D Printing: Intellectual Property Right Holders Beware!

2013-12-09

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3DPRINTING:INTELLECTUALPROPERTYRIGHTHOLDERSBEWARE!

LOUIS-PIERREGRAVELLE&JULIENPERRON-PICHE*
ROBIC,
LLP
L
AWYERS,PATENTANDTRADE-MARKAGENTS

3Dprintingisthegenericnamegiventoafamilyofadditivemanufacturing
processes.Theseareprocessesthatareemployedtobuildadesiredobjectby
addingmateriallayerbylayer.Onecanthusobtainverycomplexshapesand
propertiesthatcannoteasilybeobtainedbyanyothermanufacturingmethod
(casting,machining,etc.).
Althoughthistechnologyseemstobestraightoutofsci-fimovies,itwillsoonbe
presentinourdailylives…ifsuchisnotthecasealready!Today,industrialprinters
aremoreefficientandlesscostlythanever.Moreover,variousmanufacturersoffer
personalprintersataffordableprices.

Itisveryrarethatatechnologycreatessomuchinterestinsuchawidearrayof
industries.3Dprintinghassparkedinterestfromthegeneralmanufacturing,
automotive,industrialdesignandmedicalresearchindustries.ConsultantsMcKinsey
&Co.hasidentified3Dprintingasoneofthe10mostimportanttechnologiesto
watchinthenext20years.Thefirmbelievesthat3Dprintingcouldgeneratean
overalleconomicimpactof230to550billiondollarsperyearin2025.Thisnumber
wascalculatedwhilecontemplatingonlytheapplicationsavailabletoday.

Inconjunctionwiththedevelopmentofmachines,websitesnowhostfilescontaining
the3Dgeometriesforallsortsofitemsthatcanbedownloadedandprinted.Today,
onecanfindonlinefilesneededtomakejewelry,toys,replacementpartsfor
appliances…andevenfirearms.Meanwhile,thedevelopmentof3Dscannersthat
canfaithfullytranslatethe3Dgeometryofaphysicalobjectintoacomputerfile
progressesandtheiruseisaccordinglybecomingmorewidespread.

Withallthesedevelopments,severalholdersofintellectualpropertyrightsare
concernedthattheirrightsmaybeviolatedandtradedonthewebinthesameway
thatthemusicfileswereintheearly2000s.Here,webrieflyexaminethepossible
impactsoftheproliferationof3Dprintingonintellectualpropertyrights.

©CIPS,2013.*FromROBIC,LLP,amultidisciplinaryfirmofLawyers,andPatentandTrade-markAgents.Published
intheFall2013(Vol.17,no.2)Newsletterofthefirm.Publication068.165E.

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a)Copyright
Copyrightprotectstheoriginalworkofanauthorfromanyreproductionwithout
consent.Itisthemanufacturersofhighconsumptionproductsthataremost
vulnerabletothearrivalofthepersonal3Dprinter.Sufficetosayitwillsoonbeeasy
enoughtoproduceatoy,buildingblockorafigurinedepictingacartooncharacter
withouttheknowledgeofthecreatororthecopyrightholder.Althoughthe
counterfeitingworkiseasytoidentify,theproblemwillbefortherightsholderto
determinewhoisliableforinfringement.Inotherwords,whoisliableforthe
counterfeiting:thepersonwhouploadedthefile,thewebsitethathoststhefile,the
personewhoprintstheobjectorthepersonusingit?Thesequestionshighlightthe
newproblemsthat3Dprintingcreates:theseparationbetweenthosewhodevelopa
productfromthosewhomakethem.Itisthereforeessentialforcopyrightholdersto
bevigilantabouttheuseoftheirworksontheweb,otherwisetheymaylosecontrol
overtheirdistribution.
b)Patents
Patentsonprocessesorarticleswillbeaffectedbythearrivalof3Dprinting.Indeed,
itispossiblethattheproductionofapatentedprocessusingadditivemanufacturing
isnotaninfringementifthismethodhadnotbeenclaimedordescribedbythe
inventoratthetimeofpatentsearches.Thus,itispossiblethatseveralpatentsare
circumventedbyacompetitorwhouses3Dprinting.Ontheotherhand,3Dprinting
willnotchangemuchforpatentsrelatingtotheactualproductsgiventhesepatents
donotpertaintothemanufacturingprocess.Thus,copyingapatentedproductusing
3Dprintingwillremainanactofinfringement,nomatterwhichprocessisusedto
makeit.
c)Trademarks
Theprotectionofferedbyaregisteredtrademarkcaneasilybecircumvented
becauseitwouldtheoreticallybelegaltoremoveareferencetothetrademarkofa
productandtherebyavoidliabilityforunauthorizeduseofthismark.Inotherwords,a
usercouldremovethetrademarkfromaframeforeyeglassesfromthefilecontaining
the3Delementsandprinttheframewithoutinfringingupontherightsofthe
trademarkholder.However,fortheuseofatrademarkoradistinctivesignofa
productmanufacturedathome,additivemanufacturingwillnotchangethecurrent
law:theuseofsomeoneelse’strademarkwithoutpermissionisandwillremaina
violationofthetrademarkholder’srights.
d)Industrialdesignpatents

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Industrialdesignpatentsprotecttheshapeandappearanceofobjectsproducedin
largequantities,suchasfurnitureorkitchenitems.Asisthecasewithpatents,
reproductionwithoutpermissionofanobjectthatisprotectedbyindustrialdesign
remainsaninfringement.
Finally,althoughtheintellectualpropertyrightsaretreatedseparately,itmustbe
rememberedthattheyareallinterrelatedandthereforeitispossiblethat
infringementswillariseundermorethanoneaspect.Despitetheadverseimpactof
recentdevelopmentsin3Dprintingmaterials,holdersofintellectualpropertyrights
shouldbenefitfromtheseadvancementsfortheirfuturecreationswhilecontinuingto
enforcetheirexistingrights.Vigilanceremainscrucial.

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