Many people believe 3D printing will disrupt IP law as it becomes mainstream. Now, three companies are petitioning the highest court in the U.S. to create a new test to delineate what types of objects…
IP Lessons from NewPro 3D’s 3D Printing Spat with Nexa3D
The recently reported patent spat between two 3D printing startups offers some insight for businesses about IP rights. The spat involves a fairly common business disagreement: who owns a patent on tec…
Appeals Court Rules On the Transmission of 3D Files
In a case with important implications for 3D printing, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit – which decides appeals in all U.S. patent cases – ruled in a dispute be…
Stratasys v. Afinia Update: What’s the Point?
As the trial date nears in Stratasys’s patent infringement case against Afinia, many observers are attempting to project how it will pan out. By and large, this case has proceeded in the same fashion …
Why the Memjet v. HP Lawsuit Will Be a Footnote in the 3D Printing Patent Wars
Since Memjet filed its lawsuit against HP on August 11, 2015, a few dozen commentators have theorized that the suit will affect 3D printing. But it does not look like this case will be the start of th…
3D Scanning: the Achilles Heel of IP Protection for 3D Printing
Jerry Fisher unexpectedly found himself in legal hot water after publishing 3D models of a famous Michelangelo statue located on Augustana College’s campus. Mr. Fisher used hundreds of photographs of …
Court to Decide Key Question on Patentability of 3D Digital Models
Sometime this summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will decide how patent law should treat digital representations of physical objects, which some people call “3D digital models”.…
3D Printer Jailbreaking: the Age-old Open/Closed Dilemma
Two questions plague many 3D printer makers as they grow: (1) can we make our materials proprietary; and (2) what should we do when customers jailbreak our machines or pressure us to open our machines…