IP issues in 3D printing

Produced in partnership with David Knight and Helen Vlachos of Brown Rudnick

Practice notes

In-house

IP issues in 3D printing

Produced in partnership with David Knight and Helen Vlachos of Brown Rudnick

Practice notes

In-house

This Practice Note introduces the IP issues which have an impact in 3D printing. It covers enforcement of patents, design rights, copyright and trade marks and looks at various different industry applications for 3D printing and the specific IP implications of those.

What is 3D printing?

Conventionally objects have been made by casting in a mould or by machining material from a block of steel, wood or the like or some combination of such techniques. 3D printing, also referred to as additive manufacturing (or AM), approaches manufacture from a different direction, and builds up an object layer by layer under computer control using a digital design file. This digital design file, which is typically generated from a 3D CAD (computer-aided design) file of the object, and is referred to in this Practice Note as the 'data file', contains all of the relevant instructions and information the 3D printer will need to produce the 3D object, specifying the size and shape of the object, as well as any surface decoration. The data

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

European patent definition

What does European patent mean?

A European patent is a patent which is granted under the European Patent Convention.

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