Build RepRaps to sell?

[Marcus]

Also be aware of patents and regulations that may cause big trouble for a small business, depending on the country you are in / selling to.

[RP Iron Man]

Also be aware of patents and regulations that may cause big trouble for a small business, depending on the country you are in / selling to.

Does this pertain to FFF 3d printers?

I thought that the patents were only a potential problem if you started dabbling in SLS metal printing, or if you sold printers with actively heated chambers. Even then, the big commercial printer companies like 3D Systems and Stratasys likely will not bother to sue you unless you start making boatloads of cash. The Kuehling&Kuehling RepRap Industrial printer has an actively heated chamber which seems to step all over the Stratasys patents, yet they have not experienced any legal trouble. I assume that Stratasys is aware of their printer but does not bother to sue the Kuehling brothers because a lawsuit would not be worth the trouble.

Eric

[RobertKuhlmann]

Does this pertain to FFF 3d printers?

I thought that the patents were only a potential problem if you started dabbling in SLS metal printing, or if you sold printers with actively heated chambers. Even then, the big commercial printer companies like 3D Systems and Stratasys likely will not bother to sue you unless you start making boatloads of cash. The Kuehling&Kuehling RepRap Industrial printer has an actively heated chamber which seems to step all over the Stratasys patents, yet they have not experienced any legal trouble. I assume that Stratasys is aware of their printer but does not bother to sue the Kuehling brothers because a lawsuit would not be worth the trouble.

Eric

A patent will only withstand a lawsuit, if it is a real invention of a specific minimum height. No one should be able to claim the exclusive rights for an actively heated chamber (how does a "passive" heated chamber look like?), because this "invention" is so trivial, the patent may be withdrawn in a law suit.
I think they would risk to loose their patent, not only the lawsuit. 0.02€

[RP Iron Man]

A patent will only withstand a lawsuit, if it is a real invention of a specific minimum height. No one should be able to claim the exclusive rights for an actively heated chamber (how does a "passive" heated chamber look like?), because this "invention" is so trivial, the patent may be withdrawn in a law suit.
I think they would risk to loose their patent, not only the lawsuit. 0.02€

You may be right about trivial patents not surviving lawsuits. I have heard of people attaining patents for the most trivial of inventions, but I am not sure how these patents would hold up in court (but then why were they granted in the first place?). As you may have heard, a hardware startup called Formlabs was recently sued by 3D Systems for infringing on their Photolithography patents (very old/basic invention) but I am not sure how that one turned out. The thing is, the law tends to favor those who know all of the loops and does not necessarily protect what is reasonable. A large corporation like 3D Systems will be able to spend large sums of money on top notch lawyers whereas a hardware startup like Formlabs may not have the resources to fight such a large lawsuit.

By actively heated chamber I am referring to a chamber that has temperature regulated by a thermistor with heaters (other than the heat bed) heating the chamber. A "passive" heated chamber would just be an enclosure around the printer that helps retain the heat produced by the heat bed.

Eric