Will 3D printing kill IP?

September 19, 2013 01:08 PM ETComputerworld - SAN JOSE -- When 3D printing allows anyone to scan an object and create it, the concept of intellectual property and trademarks will increasingly become irrelevant.

"IP will be ignored and it will be impossible or impractical to enforce," said John Horlicks, an attorney with Finnegan, Henderson, Farbow, Garrett & Dunner LLP in New York and a speaker at the Inside 3D Printing Conference here today. "Everything will change when you can make anything."

The onslaught against IP will begin with the toy industry, Hornick said.

Kids will be able to access CAD files containing the design specifications of their favorite toys on peer-to-peer sites such as Pirate Bay. Or they may use scanning technology in devices like Microsoft's Kinect motion sensor, to scan an object, load it into a CAD file and then onto a 3D printer, and voila, a toy is duplicated to exacting specification.

The "D-Tech Me" service from Disney's Hollywood Studios already allows visitors to pay $100 to get scanned and have a movie character -- such as a Star Wars storm trooper or a Disney princess -- created in their image.

As the tech advances, Peer Munck, a consultant at Liberty Advisor Group, said he fears the "Napsterization" of the 3D printing industry.

Napster, a peer-to-peer music file-sharing site, turned the music industry upside down when the service, founded in 1999, let users share .mp3 files for free. The service prompted record companies and artists to quickly join in a legal battle contending that Napster infringed on copyrights. By 2001, the legal quagmire forced Napster to shutter its virtual doors.

Thus, once users start sharing CAD files with product designs that can be used on 3D printers, manufacturers may also find legal and legislative avenues to prevent infringement on their patents, Munck said.

Chris Strong, an account manager with RapidScan3D, scans an attendee at the "Inside 3D Printing" conference in San Jose. The scanning technology creates an exact software replica of any object and it can be adjusted for color or other effects before being transferred to a 3D printer to create a real object, such as a human bust.

"Napster really did leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth. It was such an oversimplified and Draconian reaction [by the music industry]," said Melba Kurman, an author on 3D printing and a technology analyst. The reaction led some experts to suggest that government enforcement of IP is not the route to take in the future.

Kurman, however, believes government does have a role in protecting 3D printing IP, but not by responding to "fear-based" lobbying by industry groups.

Characters ranging from Disney princesses to Star Wars hero Hans Solo frozen in carbonite can be customized to look like the person purchasing them through 3D modeling and printing

On a micro level, any consumer can purchase a 3D printer and make custom products or copy existing ones - from clothing to kitchenware. No tool or die-casting is required because the printer does it all. While the quality of a consumer-grade 3D printer will not typically meet the quality of a product created industrially, the technology is improving rapidly.

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New 3D printing DRM copies Netflix's moves to blockade physical pirates

Once 3D printing becomes mainstream, manufacturing companies fear that open season will basically be declared for piracy of physical goods -- just as digital downloads reshaped the music industry. Why purchase that fancy new iPhone case, after all, when you can just grab the digital CAD file for free from a website and print it at home for just the cost of some plastic filament?

California-based Authentise wants to allay those fears with a new service called SendShapes. The new service, launching in Alpha status in September, aims to accomplish for 3D printing what Netflix is doing for video streaming: Making it as easy and convenient as possible for users to purchase the right to print an official design for their favorite toy figurine, smartphone dock, or table saw guard.

[ Understand how to both manage and benefit from the consumerization of IT with InfoWorld's "Consumerization Digital Spotlight" PDF special report. | Subscribe to InfoWorld's Consumerization of IT newsletter today. ]

Under Authentise's scheme, the creator of a 3D design would upload their file to the company's servers, then the end user would stream the uploaded file in pieces as needed by the 3D printer. That streamed file's good for one-time use only: Once the object is printed, all traces of it disappear on your PC. The approach is similar to how Netflix sends video files to your computer, according to MIT Technology Review.

Authentise hopes its approach will allay piracy fears and unlock the coming universe of 3D printing to makers of popular goods.

The ability to print 3D objects may seem limited right now, but there's no telling what crafty 3D printing geeks will be able to craft in their parent's basement over the coming years. One Texas man has already figured out how to print a firearm, and a New Zealand man is printing a full-size plastic replica of a 1961 series II Aston Martin DB4.

Why pay for 3D designs?
Authentise's approach indeed holds appeal. If you needed to print out a new leg for an Ikea side table, it would be better to get the official 3D design rather than a random CAD drawing pulled off The Pirate Bay's Physibles section. Buying an official Elmo toy design for Christmas would also be easier than trying to create your own version.

But there's no getting around the fact that Authentise's approach is yet another form of digital rights management (DRM) that enforces restrictions on the user. If the model doesn't print out properly, for example, how easy is it to ask for a do over?

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New 3D printing DRM copies Netflix's moves to blockade physical pirates

Once 3D printing becomes mainstream, manufacturing companies fear that open season will basically be declared for piracy of physical goods—just as digital downloads reshaped the music industry. Why purchase that fancy new iPhone case, after all, when you can just grab the digital CAD file for free from a website and print it at home for just the cost of some plastic filament?

California-based Authentise wants to allay those fears with a new service called SendShapes. The new service, launching in Alpha status in September, aims to accomplish for 3D printing what Netflix is doing for video streaming: Making it as easy and convenient as possible for users to purchase the right to print an official design for their favorite toy figurine, smartphone dock, or table saw guard.

Authentise(Click to enlarge.)

Under Authentise’s scheme, the creator of a 3D design would upload their file to the company’s servers, then the end user would stream the uploaded file in pieces as needed by the 3D printer. That streamed file's good for one-time use only: Once the object is printed, all traces of it disappear on your PC. The approach is similar to how Netflix sends video files to your computer, according to MIT Technology Review.

Authentise hopes its approach will allay piracy fears and unlock the coming universe of 3D printing to makers of popular goods.

The ability to print 3D objects may seem limited right now, but there’s no telling what crafty 3D printing geeks will be able to craft in their parent’s basement over the coming years. One Texas man has already figured out how to print a firearm, and a New Zealand man is printing a full-size plastic replica of a 1961 series II Aston Martin DB4.

Authentise’s approach indeed holds appeal. If you needed to print out a new leg for an Ikea side table, it would be better to get the official 3D design rather than a random CAD drawing pulled off The Pirate Bay’s Physibles section. Buying an official Elmo toy design for Christmas would also be easier than trying to create your own version.

But there’s no getting around the fact that Authentise’s approach is yet another form of digital rights management (DRM) that enforces restrictions on the user. If the model doesn’t print out properly, for example, how easy is it to ask for a do over?

Authentise’s approach is far more palatable than an idea cooked up by Nathan Myhrvold, a former Microsoft CTO and the co-founder of "patent troll firm" Intellectual Ventures. Myhrvold holds a patent for 3D printing DRM that would force you to get authorization from a remote server before being allowed to print off any item at home, according to ExtremeTech. It’s the typical “all users are potential pirates, so let’s treat them that way” approach seen in most use cases of DRM, but in 3D.

Microsoft

Authentise’s solution should be far more palatable than having a virtual 3D printing cop embedded in your PC, but as with most forms of DRM, SendShapes is also just begging to be cracked.

But even if SendShapes isn’t bullet proof, it doesn’t mean it won’t work overall. People have proven through the success of iTunes, Spotify, and Netflix that if a convenient commercial method is available for buying digital goods, it will beat piracy every time—assuming it charges a reasonable price for a quality product with few restrictions, that is.

[Via TorrentFreak]

Ian is an independent writer based in Tel Aviv, Israel. His current focus is on all things tech including mobile devices, desktop and laptop computers, software, social networks, Web apps, tech-related legislation and corporate tech news.
More by Ian Paul

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Microsoft details 3D printing in Windows 8.1

With companies like MakerBot creating digitizers aimed at making 3D printing easier, Microsoft is betting that we’ll all be printing offYoda figurines and retirement gifts from our desktops soon.

To get ready for the coming 3D craze, and to cater to professionals already working with the technology, Microsoft is aiming to make 3D printing as easy as 2D printing in Windows 8.1. The easiest way to do that, Microsoft says, was to base its new 3D printing pipeline on the tried and true process of Windows document printing.

We’ve known about the new Windows feature since June when the company announced the Windows 8.1 preview. But in a recent blog post, Microsoft provided a little more detail about how 3D printing will work in the upcoming version of Windows due out October 17.

What 3D printing in Windows currently looks like.

Right now, 3D printing is a pain that involves wrangling with different file formats throughout the process, while at the same time being sure not to lose any metadata or critical details about the end product. You also have to deal with a multitude of 3D printing apps and devices that may or may not want to play nice together.

In Windows 8.1, however, all you’ll have to do is click File>Print just like you would for any spreadsheet or text document, choose your options, hit the print button, and Windows takes care of the rest.

A high-level view of the 3D printing process in Windows 8.1

A new XML-based data format called 3D Manufacturing Format (3MF) is at the center of Microsoft’s new Windows 3D printing flow. 3MF includes everything a 3D printer needs to know about the print job. The new format also offers extensibility so that 3D printer companies can include their own custom data. All an app has to do is send the 3MF data to Windows and the OS will spool out the information to the 3D printer.

Microsoft’s 3D printer support in Windows 8.1 will include all the familiar features of document printing that everyone is used to including print options, spooling, and queue management. The software maker also says plug-and-play support will make it simple to connect a 3D printer to your PC.

3D printing will also be supported on the modern side of Windows allowing you to print 3D models with a simple swipe followed by a few taps of the Charms bar.

You can find a complete demo of 3D printing in Windows 8.1 in the Microsoft video below:

Ian is an independent writer based in Tel Aviv, Israel. His current focus is on all things tech including mobile devices, desktop and laptop computers, software, social networks, Web apps, tech-related legislation and corporate tech news.
More by Ian Paul

View the original article here

Microsoft details 3D printing in Windows 8.1

With companies like MakerBot creating digitizers aimed at making 3D printing easier, Microsoft is betting that we’ll all be printing offYoda figurines and retirement gifts from our desktops soon.

To get ready for the coming 3D craze, and to cater to professionals already working with the technology, Microsoft is aiming to make 3D printing as easy as 2D printing in Windows 8.1. The easiest way to do that, Microsoft says, was to base its new 3D printing pipeline on the tried and true process of Windows document printing.

We’ve known about the new Windows feature since June when the company announced the Windows 8.1 preview. But in a recent blog post, Microsoft provided a little more detail about how 3D printing will work in the upcoming version of Windows due out October 17.

What 3D printing in Windows currently looks like.

Right now, 3D printing is a pain that involves wrangling with different file formats throughout the process, while at the same time being sure not to lose any metadata or critical details about the end product. You also have to deal with a multitude of 3D printing apps and devices that may or may not want to play nice together.

In Windows 8.1, however, all you’ll have to do is click File>Print just like you would for any spreadsheet or text document, choose your options, hit the print button, and Windows takes care of the rest.

A high-level view of the 3D printing process in Windows 8.1

A new XML-based data format called 3D Manufacturing Format (3MF) is at the center of Microsoft’s new Windows 3D printing flow. 3MF includes everything a 3D printer needs to know about the print job. The new format also offers extensibility so that 3D printer companies can include their own custom data. All an app has to do is send the 3MF data to Windows and the OS will spool out the information to the 3D printer.

Microsoft’s 3D printer support in Windows 8.1 will include all the familiar features of document printing that everyone is used to including print options, spooling, and queue management. The software maker also says plug-and-play support will make it simple to connect a 3D printer to your PC.

3D printing will also be supported on the modern side of Windows allowing you to print 3D models with a simple swipe followed by a few taps of the Charms bar.

You can find a complete demo of 3D printing in Windows 8.1 in the Microsoft video below:

Ian is an independent writer based in Tel Aviv, Israel. His current focus is on all things tech including mobile devices, desktop and laptop computers, software, social networks, Web apps, tech-related legislation and corporate tech news.
More by Ian Paul

View the original article here