I wrote an article surveying legal implications of 3D printing (from a Canadian perspective) for Lawyers Weekly with my colleague Ashlee Froese from Gilbert’s LLP. In the past three years, a feverish buzz has developed around 3D printing. The excitement…
Author: Paul Banwatt
Paul Banwatt is a lawyer at Gilbert's LLP in Toronto, Canada and drummer for the Rural Alberta Advantage
NZ Customs Minister Asks Staff to Think About 3D Printing Implications
According to a Radio New Zealand interview posted at Engineering.com, New Zealand’s customs minister Maurice Williamson is asking his staff to consider the implications of 3D printing for border protection: In an interview with Radio New Zealand, Mr. Williamson…
Rep. Israel Promotes Expansion of Undetectable Firearms Act
First, an apology for the lack of posts! We’ll get back to talking 3D printing IP issues very shortly. But today, Forbes ran a story about how U.S. Rep. Steve Israel is actually trying to expand the coverage of the…
The Undetectable Firearms Act and 3D Printing
Huffington Post has an article today about the ongoing effort of U.S. Congressman Steve Israel to have the 1988 Undetectable Firearms Act renewed before its expiration at the end of the year. Israel’s efforts have found him at odds with…
Should Rightsholders Partner with Would-be Infringers?
Michael Weinberg of Public Knowledge has a new blog post in which he suggests that intellectual property rightsholders should embrace the 3D printing community, and actively partner with 3D designers and makers. He raises the Game of Thrones example that…
Patents and 3D Printing… some thoughts
If you go to the Timeline on the official Microsoft website, you’ll see a jarring quote: 1899: “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” – Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of U.S. Patents, urging President Mckinley to abolish his office.…
3D-Print-Yourself Machines Are Awesome – But Who Owns the Copyright?
Here’s a question that occurred to me today: There are these places popping up around the world where you can 3D print yourself. Makerbot lets you print your bust for a mere $25 at their store in NYC. There’s these…
About that “Pirate Bay” for 3D Printing…
By now, most people have heard about the website DEFCAD, a proposed “Pirate Bay” for sharing 3D printable designs without regard to intellectual property laws, regulations or take-down notices. DEFCAD is at least loosely related to Defense Distributed (also founded…
Trade Secrets – 3D Printers can actually help PREVENT counterfeiting!
A story at Entrepreneur details how low-cost 3D printers are helping small businesses prototype their new products and become more competitive. But what’s really cool is this section which runs contrary to the popular view that 3D printers are nothing…
3D Printing Patents Expire – RepRap Moves In
If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ll know that I’m a bit obsessed with answering the “why now?” question regarding 3D printing, particularly framing the current state of the industry in the context of expiring patents (see here, and here).…