3D printing: new governance of IPRs for a new era
Ludmila Striukova, University College London
Innovation and Technology Management
Start-up mentor
Editor of International Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Management
Current 3D printing landscape
Hard side (printers)
FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) patents expired in 2009
Laser-sintering patents to expire in 2014)
Soft side (processes and products)
Design rights (registered and unregistered) to protect the shape and configuration of products
Copyright
protects literary, artistic, musical and dramatic work in 2D (images/designs which someone might want to print )
Underlying software to create CAD
Trade marks to protect a recognisable manufacturer’s brand (words, symbols, distinctive shapes, etc.)
Business method patents
Business method patent
Made-to-order direct digital manufacturing enterprise (US 8515826 B2, Kraftwurx)
online customization services for 3D-printed objects
Current 3D printing landscape
• Purely personal use of 3D printing to make copies of household objects and spare parts does not infringe design rights, patents or trade marks• manufacturers, may be unable to enforce design protection
against private users of 3D printing
• With the reproduction of artistic works copyright may be infringed• infringement of works previously difficult to copy
Current 3D landscape
• Willing or unwilling infringement
Current 3D landscape
• Willing or unwilling infringement
• Increasing contribution via co-creation and crowdsourcing
• New ways to manage IP are needed
Current IP strategies
• Strong regime
• Weak regime
Strong regime (incentives)• creators are only likely to continue contributing in the future if
they can capture a sufficient value • a strong IPR protection is necessary
• a project can be divided into several parts to enable contributors to participate in one portion of the project only• different parts of the project will be protected by different IPRs
Divide et empera
(paste and gaze)
Weak regime (openness)
• weaker IPR regimes stimulate creativity and innovation • artistic creators
• open source strategy or open design strategy • a centralised design repository (such as Thingiverse)
Value capture vs value creation
• Greater adoption of 3D printers can develop further opportunities of crowdsourcing and mass-customisation and increase value creation.
• 3D printing can also allow value capture through cost reduction– manufactured on demand, transportation and storage costs are
decreased– cost of manufacturing is borne by consumers
Value capture vs value creation
• Strong regime– Easy to capture value, but
difficult to create it
• Weak regime– Easy to create value, but
difficult to capture it
New Landscape
Open innovationAssociated with
• Open source – code development in the software industry– RepRap
• Creative Commons Project – access to contents with less limitation/
standardized licensing terms.
• Co-creation– User innovation/crowdsourcing
Open innovation:3D printing co-creation
• Design co-creation– Customisation (Cubify Cloud, i.Materialise, Sculpteo)– Co-creation (i.Materialise, Shapeways, iMakr)– Crowdsourcing (Kraftwurx, Additor)
• Printing co-creation– Printing services (Shapeways, Sculpteo, i.Materialise, Cubify
Cloud)– Printing marketplace (3DHub, MakeXYZ)– Printing at home
Open innovation:3D printing co-creation
Co-ownership
• No common legal concept of co-ownership
• IP laws regulate the concept of joint inventor, co-creator, and co-owner, do not regulate how these rights may be coordinated or managed
• The administration and governance of co-ownership agreements is complex
Co-creating with consumers
• Consumers are happy to give up their rights as long as there is something for them
• 3D printing design and production open innovation quests• redesign the aircraft engine bracket
• entries from any interested party• chose ten finalists who received a $1,000 reward
• designs will be 3D printed and subjected to load testing
• The top eight will receive awards from a prize pool of $20,000.
Open innovation:inside out approach
• Willing or not
• Users/customers with original ideas
• Game of thrones iPhone charger
New business model
• Recent trends– Transaction and enforcement cost– People print on demand
New business model: contractual sharing
• Allow use via standardized licensing terms
• Standard and affordable fee
• Easy verification/payment method– Hardware/software manufactures could offer a license
• Usage is verified
• License can be revoked
• Questions?