A large scale empirical and legal study on the Intellectual Property Implications of the Development of Industrial 3D Printing, commissioned by the European Commission in 2018 to the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) was published in April 2020.

The published report (spanning 257 pages), provides an in-depth exploration of the past and current industrial applications of Additive Manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing in seven  selected sectors (health, aerospace, automotive, consumer, energy, construction and tooling) whilst identifying potential challenges and opportunities in need of clarification. With the aim of enhancing the competitiveness of the AM sector in Europe, the Study makes policy recommendations in the field of intellectual property for businesses engaged in the AM and 3D printing field, and in the present context, is highly relevant for businesses and consumers working with 3D printers, in the fight against Covid-19.

The project awarded to CIPPM was led by Professor Dinusha Mendis (Co-Director, CIPPM) and was completed together with academic and industry partners from UK (Dr. Julie Robson, Bournemouth University; Prof. Phill Dickens, Added Scientific Ltd), Germany (Prof. Dr. Jan Nordemann, Nordemann LLP; Hans Brorsen) Austria (Dr. Maria del Carmen Calatrava Moreno, Technopolis Group) and Finland (Dr. Rosa Ballardini, University of Lapland).

Ahead of the completion of the project and publication of the report, a final workshop was hosted in Brussels on 14 October 2019. The presentations from the workshop as well as the panel discussion, can be accessed here.

>> Download the full Report and Executive Summary here.

>> Access an independent review here.

The independent review of the Study was carried out by 3dprintingindustry.com in collaboration with Marks and Clerk (specialists in IP law).