What (a Pair of) Lawyers Think You Should Do About 3D Printed Objects

WIRED has had several stories in the past year on the intersection of 3D printing and intellectual property (see this big of AUGH for example). This week they continued with a piece by two lawyers, Elizabeth Ferrel and Robert Yoches, attempting to give people advice (which I'm sure does not constitute actual legal advice) about how to handle this swamp. I think they get it about half right and about half wrong.

Ferrel and Yoches seem to think that precedents of contributory infringement set against music-sharing services could be used against intermediary services that host 3D instruction files. I'm less certain, though perhaps the instruction files can be covered under copyright. The thesis that someone who creates an instruction file for making a copy of a protected object is aiding infringement might or might not stand up. Courts have long distinguished bomb making instructions from bomb-making.

Then there's the practical questions. Ferrel and Yoches admit that suing individual infringers is impractical. Even the Cartel, with its vast resources, could not make a reasonable go of mass-suits against consumers. Any IP holder less willing to lose vast sums is going to have a hell of a time taking action against people who do the actual printing, regardless of how secure their IP is. Many individual music copiers were sued because they (re)shared. I suspect that the vast majority of people who print objects are going to be making one-off personal copies. Finding these people is a non-starter.

Where I agree most with Ferrel and Yoches is where they note that inventors can "innovate rather than protect." This is how fashion works and that model might be usable for many objects that can be 3D printed at home.