In July 2016, CIPPM Co-Director, Dr. Dinusha Mendis disseminated her research on the IP Implications of 3D printing in Southampton, Newcastle and London.

Questioning what the future holds for IP law as a result of technologies such as 3D printing, Dr. Mendis spoke about the research she has conducted for the UK Government (UK Intellectual Property Office) as well as next-steps for the future. In doing so, Dr. Mendis also spoke about her RCUK/AHRC funded research project, ‘Going for Gold’.

On 5th July 2016, Dr. Mendis was invited to present her research on 3D Printing and IP at a Cross-Hub Workshop on 3D Printing at Southampton Solent University.

The event titled ‘Cross-Hub Workshop: 3D Printing: Development, Application and its Contribution to Local Economy’ hosted speakers from both academia and industry, thereby presenting the opportunity to explore and discuss the digital opportunities and its potential contribution to local/national economy in the development and application of 3D printing technology.

Dr. Mendis spoke about her research into the intellectual property implications of 3D printing and presented the results from the commissioned research carried out for the UK Intellectual Property Office, which led to the publication of 2 Reports and an Executive Summary in 2015, whilst outlining the research being carried out under the Going for Gold project.

On 11th July 2016, Dr. Mendis was an invited speaker at the Law, Innovation and Society Research Group of Newcastle Law School which hosted a 2-day event on ‘Fossilisation and Innovation’ exploring law’s response to innovation and emerging technologies. Dr. Mendis’ presentation explored law’s resilience to dynamic change, and questioned whether legislators should adapt to innovation whilst adopting innovative regulation. The 2 day event began with a keynote speech by Professor Dan Faber of UC Berkeley and concluded with a keynote speech by Professor Karen Yeung of Kings College London.

On 12th July 2016, Dr. Mendis was an invited speaker at the ‘3D Printing in Law and Society‘ workshop hosted by the Information, Law and Policy Centre at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS).

The event marked the launch of Dr. Angela Daly’s new book on 3D Printing and commenced with a presentation from Dr. Daly, a research fellow at Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Law, Australia. Dr. Daly’s presentation was followed by Dr. Mendis speaking about the IP implications of 3D printing, highlighting the challenges and opportunities which this technology has brought about, whilst outlining the next steps for 3D printing, from a legal perspective. More information about the event as well a write up about it, can be found here.