Protection of Patent Rights in the Age of 3D Printing
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56042/jipr.v29i1.2100Keywords:
3D Printing, Supply Chain, Infringement, Patent Rights, Legal Protection, CAD, Active Inducement, Contributory Infringement, Digital Patent InfringementAbstract
3D Printing is a disruptive technology that has come to alter traditional supply chains by changing the process flow for
the making of tangible goods. 3D printing has bridged both the gap between the tangible and the intangible and that between
the producer and consumer, creating a new class of ‘consumers’. With 3D printing has come great ease in infringing patent
rights. It has also led to a change in manufacturing and supply chains and therefore disrupted the rules governing placement
of liability. This work attempts to identify the specific effects of 3D printing on supply chains and ease of infringement, with
a view to proffering ways in which the interests of innovators and consumers can be protected. It finds that since 3D printing
has eroded the line between the tangible and the intangible, it is necessary to depart from the old legal tradition of hinging
patent infringement liability on tangibility. There should at least be infringement liability for certain acts such as selling and
offering to sell, done in relation to CAD files from which patented products are printed.
