BBC News invited Coller IP to speak about Intellectual Property issues around the recent developments in 3D printing technology.
Coller IP has been following innovations in 3D Printing closely over the past 3 years, so we were very excited to take part in the BBC Click Team's report. The technology is developing rapidy - so much so that higher quality affordable 3D printers are now becoming available for home use. The BBC were keen to investigate developers and home user's rights when the technology is made more widely available.......
Spencer Kelly and Dan Simmons reports and Dan speaks to Coller IP's CEO, Jackie Maguire.
There has been much debate: around the ability of individuals to produce an increasingly greater number of objects for home use; around the emergence of 3D printing shops in the high street; and on the potential impact for manufacturing per se if 3D printing is used for a wide range of everyday products.
Researchers are making great strides in material development for 3D printing, capturing the imagination of academics, policy makers and entrapreneurs. No longer is 3D printing – aka Additive Manufacturing – just constrained to plastic products. The futuristic vision of being able to "print" all kinds of functioning 3 dimensional objects is coming closer to a reality. Some of the many products and techniques are described for all to read by Christopher Barnatt.
The implications for everyday life have spurred something of a craze and some hype as well as reviews calling for policy changes at Government level. Printing Aston Martin DB5′s takes the potential imagination to a whole new level!
Coller IP wrote in TCT magazine over a year ago about the intellectual property issues surrounding 3D printing where a product is built up layer by layer.
Different types of intellectual property relate to different aspects of the printing process, from copyright in artistic works and the software used to control the printer, to design rights in the components and products produced, patents covering the specialised resins and polymers used in printing, the design, construction and mode of operation of the printer as well as trade marks for printer branding and those protecting the 3D features of the products producted. So for anyone developing a business built around 3D printing, there are specific IP issues that can affect the success of the operation....and liabilities don't stop there....
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