Page 28 - EngineerIt March 2021

OPINION

3D Printing - A genuine challenge

to intellectual property laws and

rights holders?

By Thapelo Montong, Senior Associate and Patent Attorney at Adams and Adams

lthough 3D printing technology has been in existence for several decades, its 3D printing challenges met
recent proliferation makes it clear that never before has this technology presented While the second and third requirements
Aas acute a challenge to Intellectual Property (IP) laws and rights holders, and to identified above may be fairly easily met,
traditional manufacturing practices. the first requirement may be viewed as
The prolific rate at which 3D printers are being produced is realistically projected a barrier to entry, since manufacturers
to result in a 3D printer becoming a common household device in the next few years. would argue that they may still be able to
This could ultimately decentralise manufacturing, enabling virtually anyone to become a safeguard digital files containing technical
manufacturer in the comfort of their home. drawings that may be used to 3D print
Naturally, such a result would significantly disrupt the general order of business in their products, whether as confidential
a manner so far-reaching that it would affect the economy at large, for example with information or by relying on copyright.
reference to the availability of employment and the collection of taxes. Such a view is blurred, however, and
does not take cognisance of numerous
3D printing requirements enabling technologies that can be
Generally, to create a product using a 3D printer, one requires: exploited by non-IP rights holders in
(i) a digital file of the product to be 3D printed; creating, with minimal effort, a digital file
(ii) instructions that would instruct the 3D printer to additively print the product; and of a product in which IP rights subsist.
(iii) a material that will be used to print the product in 3D. One example of such a technology is
a 3D scanner, which can scan a product
A 3D printer also needs to be calibrated correctly to ensure that the printed product has and produce a digital file thereof in a
the desired mechanical and physical properties. matter of minutes.

EngineerIT | March 2021 | 26