Book contents
- 3D Printing and Intellectual Property
- Reviews
- 3D Printing and Intellectual Property
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 3D Printing Technology’s Capabilities and Effects
- 2 How 3D Printing Works and Why it Matters
- 3 Primer on Intellectual Property Law
- 4 Can You Patent a 3D Printable File? (and Why it Matters)
- 5 Patents – Direct Infringement, Individual Infringement, and “Digital” Infringement
- 6 Patents – Indirect Infringement and Intermediaries
- 7 3D Printing and Trademarks: The Dissociation Between Design and Manufacturing
- 8 Creativity and Utility: 3D Printable Files and the Boundary Between Copyright and Patent Protection
- 9 Design Rights, Tangibility, and Free Expression
- 10 DMFs and Optimizing Innovation Incentives
- Conclusion
- Index
9 - Design Rights, Tangibility, and Free Expression
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 July 2019
- 3D Printing and Intellectual Property
- Reviews
- 3D Printing and Intellectual Property
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 3D Printing Technology’s Capabilities and Effects
- 2 How 3D Printing Works and Why it Matters
- 3 Primer on Intellectual Property Law
- 4 Can You Patent a 3D Printable File? (and Why it Matters)
- 5 Patents – Direct Infringement, Individual Infringement, and “Digital” Infringement
- 6 Patents – Indirect Infringement and Intermediaries
- 7 3D Printing and Trademarks: The Dissociation Between Design and Manufacturing
- 8 Creativity and Utility: 3D Printable Files and the Boundary Between Copyright and Patent Protection
- 9 Design Rights, Tangibility, and Free Expression
- 10 DMFs and Optimizing Innovation Incentives
- Conclusion
- Index
Summary
Chapter 9 considers the role of design rights for DMFs. In it, I argue that DMFs should only receive design protection if the object they will print would receive such protection. Current practice in many jurisdictions is to the contrary. They protect any qualifying images if they appear on a computer screen. I argue that this approach impermissibly protects mere artistic images, which should be protected, if at all, by copyright law. I offer a framework for a teleological approach to design right in digital images and focus the approach on DMFs specifically. In addition, I describe how the EU Design Directive includes many important safeguards for free speech, experimentation, and private use. I recommend that the United States include similar protections in its design patent laws.
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- 3D Printing and Intellectual Property , pp. 178 - 202Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019