Intellectual Property - legal case

[bruna597]

Hey guys,

My name is Bruna and I am a law researcher from Brazil. I'm writing a paper about Intellectual Property and 3D Printing and I'd like your help to know if is there any legal case of someone being sued for printing an object protected under copyright or patent law, even if there is non-commercial use?

Thanks!

[Feign]

Look into the RIAA's attempts to sue people for copying music. The two situations are almost identical, as long as a person doesn't attempt to sell his copied thing, then there's no case.

That said, the legal atmosphere in the court system today is a bit different today than it was in the early 2000s.

[LambdaFF]

Yes there was a quadcopter thing about a month ago. http://www.3dprinterworld.com/articl...t-suit-settled

[Feign]

Ah, but Bruna asked if it's possible "even if there is non-commercial use" IP infringements take effect if someone tries selling somebody elses work as their own. Just printing out copyrighted material for one's own personal use is completely legal in the US (and would be practically unenforcable if it were illegal).

[Mjolinor]

Lego and their procedures will probably give you some good input.

[anconchuir]

The only thing that could have been copyright protected in this Canadian case is the STL file itself. There is no copyright protection for physical objects. I guess the main legal question here is whether a STL file made available under a non-commercial use licence applies or extends to selling the physical object.??

[bruna597]

The only thing that could have been copyright protected in this Canadian case is the STL file itself. There is no copyright protection for physical objects. I guess the main legal question here is whether a STL file made available under a non-commercial use licence applies or extends to selling the physical object.??

In brazilian law it's possible to protect a physical object under copyright law. In this Canadian case, I think the problem is that the object was printed, so the owner should have registered the patente, but he didn't. The STL file can't be protected by patent, though. The thing is: the drone is a functional object, that must be protected by a patent; this isn't the case for the STL file. So, technically, even though the drone has its origins in the STL, the STL's owner can't sue the person that printed the drone, simply because the STL's owner didn't have register under patent law.

I'll do some research on the lego's case! Thanks

[awerby]

What do you mean, there's "no copyright protection for physical objects"? Of course there is. Any sculpture, for instance, is copyright-protected from the moment of its creation; registering the copyright is a formality that's recommended but has not been required since 1978. This is true in Switzerland as well as in the US. In fact, the copyright rules that most of the developed world has signed onto are known as the Berne Convention, after the town in Switzerland where they were first signed. Here's what it says about what the treaty protects:

"(1) The expression “literary and artistic works” shall include every production in the literary, scientific and artistic domain, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression, such as books, pamphlets and other writings; lectures, addresses, sermons and other works of the same nature; dramatic or dramatico-musical works; choreographic works and entertainments in dumb show; musical compositions with or without words; cinematographic works to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to cinematography; works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving and lithography; photographic works to which are assimilated works expressed by a process analogous to photography; works of applied art; illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional works relative to geography, topography, architecture or science."

http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/text.jsp?file_id=283698

The STL file is also protected, but its protection is not as encompassing until it's fixed in some material form; until that point, individual nations can legislate differently about how intangible objects might be protected. Of course, there are other forms of protection for the intellectual property embodied in physical objects as well, such as trademarks, trade dress, and design patents.

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[bruna597]

The STL file is also protected, but its protection is not as encompassing until it's fixed in some material form; until that point, individual nations can legislate differently about how intangible objects might be protected. Of course, there are other forms of protection for the intellectual property embodied in physical objects as well, such as trademarks, trade dress, and design patents.

If you are intrested about the kind of protection that a STL file could receive, I recomend this material. It is, indeed, a controversial subject: http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/...vol71/iss1/14/

[HeadClot]

Just thought I would share this -

http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_curtis...a_patent_troll