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3D Printing May Face Legal Challenges
angry tapir writes "A coming revolution in 3D printing, with average consumers able to copy and create new three-dimensional objects at home, may lead to attempts by patent holders to expand their legal protections, a paper from Public Knowledge says. Patent holders may see 3D printers as threats, and they may try to sue makers of the printers or the distributors of CAD (computer-aided design) blueprints, according to digital rights group Public Knowledge."
Right, because a lumpy plastic copy of an item is just as good as the real thing....
No sig today...
Expect cardboard, glue and scissors to become "illegal patent infringement tools" soon, as well as pen and paper to be outlawed as "instruments of the law-breaking paragraph men."
This is surprising how?
Of course manufacturers and IP-holders will not be amused when you can suddenly make your own product or part that you'd otherwise have to buy for lots of cash.
They'll win that battle just as easily and decisively as the content industry has won its battle against filesharing and copying... Oh, wait.
... some patent lawyers.
__ Someday, but not this morning, I'll finally learn to use the preview button.
The only legitimate use of the chisel is to infringe on intellectual property!
That is why, even today, Canada levies a 10 cent "piracy tax" on stone plates.
THL phish sticks