3D printing is revolutionizing manufacturing practices with wide-ranging uses from medical devices to automobile parts. But the ready availability of 3D printers, combined with the ease with which computer-aided designs (CADs) can be shared, makes 3D printing particularly vulnerable to easy reproduction and distribution without prior permission of designers.
In a recent article, Professor Peter Menell of the University of California, Berkeley and Professor Ryan Vacca of the University of Akron School of Law argue that regulating 3D technology successfully will depend on a combination of the industry’s strategic approach to enforcement and the willingness of courts to amend existing copyright laws to fit the particularities of 3D printing.