Are 3D printing technology patents delaying progress?

[Bradley]

3D printing has been around for several decades but was unknown to the public. Key patents expired which allowed individuals to access 3D printing at very low cost. Consequently, we have witnessed many new innovations that will benefit a wider audience. Most striking to me is the concept of a 3D printed home that will allow me to afford my own personal Gaudi inspired home in the not to distant future.

Obviously, past 3D printing technology patents have created a suboptimal benefit to society. But what about the latest and greatest 3D printing patents? If all of the latest technology was open sourced would we see a significant rise in local manufacturing and renewable sourcing, hence, reducing environmental impact on the earth.

Maybe we should have our governments purchase 3D printing technology patents and then open source them for public use. Or maybe we should just let patents expire naturally and wait it out. I wonder if this technology is beneficial enough that governments should purchase it and place it into the public domain with the goal of kickstarting public collaboration and local manufacturing.

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Bradley, you have a good idea, but something like that will likely never happen. Governments have way too much red tape to get through in order to spend money like that. I could only imagine the negotiating process between the US government and a firm like 3D Systems on how much their patents are worth.

The other issue is, once the government buys them, would they only make them open to their residents, or the world. You would think they would have to make them open to the world. If a patent is available to everyone in the States, then it would be nearly impossible to enforce their limitations outside the county. Politicians would have a field day with this, arguing, "why should we pay for these only to have other countries take advantage."

[Bradley]

I don't see it happening either. However, the government could purchase 3D Systems the same way Google purchased Motorola Mobility, strip the patents and then resell the company. As of today, 3D Systems has a market cap of $6.3 billion. But I don't know which companies hold the most beneficial 3D printing patents so I don't know what the total cost of purchasing a useful set of patents would cost.

I would strongly argue for open sourcing the patents to the world. Think of it as foreign aid. But even if we did just write it off as foreign aid we would benefit through the resulting international collaboration. A billion average minds is far more innovative than a handful of geniuses.