{"id":3804,"date":"2015-04-07T15:56:08","date_gmt":"2015-04-07T15:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/?p=3804"},"modified":"2016-01-20T21:38:36","modified_gmt":"2016-01-20T21:38:36","slug":"cippm-researchers-publish-reports-for-the-uk-government-detailing-the-ip-implications-of-3d-printing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/2015\/04\/07\/cippm-researchers-publish-reports-for-the-uk-government-detailing-the-ip-implications-of-3d-printing\/","title":{"rendered":"Reports for the UK Government on IP Implications of 3D Printing"},"content":{"rendered":"

CIPPM researchers Dr. Dinusha Mendis<\/a> and Dr. Davide Secchi<\/a> together with Dr. Phil Reeves of Econolyst Ltd<\/a> have published a sequence of three reports on the intellectual property implications of 3D printing resulting from a project commissioned by the UK Intellectual Property Office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2012, the Big Innovation Centre, in their Report \u2018Three Dimensional Policy: Why Britain needs a policy framework for 3D Printing\u2019<\/em> provided a number of recommendations. \u00a0A key recommendation was to review the intellectual property (IP) implications of 3D printing.<\/p>\n

In 2013, the UKIPO highlighted the lack of empirical evidence relating to 3D printing and the difficulty in determining whether this emerging technology will have an impact on IP laws. \u00a0The aim of the current project was therefore to respond to this limited research. \u00a0In doing so, the Studies adopted a legal, quantitative and qualitative approach.<\/p>\n

Study I titled ‘A Legal and Empirical Study of Online Platforms and an Analysis of User Behaviour’<\/a>\u00a0explores 17 online platforms dedicated to 3D printing and provides a legal and empirical overview of how the online platforms operate and aims to provide a clearer understanding of \u2018how\u2019 the sharing happens. \u00a0In this context, Study I provides an understanding of the \u2018parameters\u2019 for sharing, e.g. terms and conditions, rules and regulations that apply, together with restrictions and bounds that apply to the user behaviour and file-sharing. \u00a0As such, Study I\u00a0evaluates the extent of this phenomenon amongst users. \u00a0In doing so, the research examines the price, downloads, licences, type of physical objects, which are shared and the implications for intellectual property laws and in particular analyses the legal provisions arising from the sharing and the copyright implications relating to software. \u00a0As such, Study I presents new findings on the current status of 3D printing relating to online platforms.<\/p>\n

Study II titled\u00a0‘The Current Status and Impact of 3D Printing Within the Industrial Sector: An Analysis of Six Case Studies’<\/a>\u00a0explores the status, impact and adoption of 3D printing in the Replacement Parts, Customised Goods and High Value Small Status Goods Industries.<\/p>\n

To map the impact that 3D printing technology is having on the UK\u2019s economic and legal landscape, Study II represents six case studies which consider the current and future consequence of 3D printing. \u00a0The first two case studies address issues relating to Replacement Parts and consider how 3D printing will affect the supply of aftermarket parts to the consumer. \u00a0The two case studies within the Customised Goods theme address how 3D printing enables unique products to be manufactured that are tailored to consumers\u2019 needs, and the IP\u00a0challenges that arise from this. Finally, the two case studies within the High Value Small Status Goods theme look at the impact that 3D printing is having on consumer products that have a low functional purpose, such as collectible figurines or sculptures.<\/p>\n

The third publication – an\u00a0Executive Summary<\/a>\u00a0– brings together the findings and conclusions from the two Studies and provides recommendations.<\/p>\n

All three Reports can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Studies concluded that there is no urgency to legislate at present as 3D printing is not a mass phenomenon yet. \u00a0It warned that a premature call for legislative and judicial action in the realm of 3D printing could stifle the public interest of \u201cfostering creativity and innovation and the right of manufacturers and content creators to protect their livelihoods\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, as 3D printing continues to grow it is important to address the IP issues arising in this area in order to cultivate a climate better suited to tackling impending IP issues more successfully and in a manner, which takes into account the interests of all stakeholders.<\/p>\n

As such, the Studies make some important recommendations to Government, the Industry and Intermediaries (online platforms) about how to regulate 3D printing without resorting to legislation.<\/p>\n

Recommendations to Government suggest the setting up of a Working Group to review the technology and the IP status particularly the position in relation to the software (Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Files) and the traceability of spare parts. The Reports also suggest that the Government should adopt a \u2018wait-and-see\u2019 approach.<\/p>\n

The Studies conclude that 65% of users engaged in the activities of 3D printing on online platforms do not license their work, leaving their creations vulnerable and open to infringement whilst losing the ability to claim authorship. The Study therefore recommends that online platforms provide more awareness and understanding of the different types of licences. The Study suggests that this aim can be achieved by explaining the nuances relating to each licence in clear and simple language, rather than simply \u2018encouraging\u2019 the user to adopt a particular type of licence. Furthermore, online platforms can assign the most appropriate licence as a default with \u2018opt-out\u2019 as an option.<\/p>\n

Finally, in relation to Industry, the Study recommends the adoption of new business models and provides a number of suggestions in this regard. The Reports also suggest the licensing of CAD files more widely, thereby opening up doors to a range of outlets selling 3D CAD files. This will avoid locking the manufacturer into an agreement through a system such as a \u2018one-stop-shop\u2019 for (spare) parts. Although a one-stop-shop may take away the costs of manufacture, transportation and storage whilst reducing potential infringement of IP laws, it can lead to a monopoly-situation, which should be avoided.<\/p>\n\"screen<\/a>\"screen<\/a>
<\/a>\n

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CIPPM researchers Dr. Dinusha Mendis and Dr. Davide Secchi together with Dr. Phil Reeves of Econolyst Ltd have published a sequence of three reports on the intellectual property implications of 3D printing resulting from a project commissioned by the UK Intellectual Property Office. In 2012, the Big Innovation Centre, in their Report \u2018Three Dimensional Policy:… Read more » about Reports for the UK Government on IP Implications of 3D Printing<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1040,"featured_media":3810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,3,7],"tags":[18,2,22],"class_list":["post-3804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-emergent-technologies","category-focus-areas","category-projects","tag-focus","tag-news","tag-past"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1040"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3804"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4182,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3804\/revisions\/4182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/cippm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}