3D Printing and the Law: Are CAD Files Copyright-protected? Article Swipe
3D printing has emerged as one of the most significantly disruptive technologies in the digital economy. The process of 3D printing involves the preparation of a computer-assisted digital (CAD) file, which may be derived from pictures or drawings, scanned from goods using a 3D scanner, or downloaded from websites. Such a file can easily be distributed, copied, modified and then printed by a printer device, using fine strands of molten plastic, ceramic, or even metal powder. This makes it possible to easily turn digital bits into physical objects. The technology's potential as a game changer, in this respect, presents challenging legal questions, which need to be addressed before the technology becomes more commonplace. This article focuses on issues that arise in copyright law in relation to the CAD files used by the printers. It is unclear whether copyright protection may exist over these design files, and if so, under what circumstances. Thus, this article examines subsistence of copyright over CAD files to be used in 3D printing: whether copyright exists and applies to the work.
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Metadata
- Type
- article
- Language
- en
- Landing Page
- https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3584854
- OA Status
- green
- Cited By
- 4
- Related Works
- 20
- OpenAlex ID
- https://openalex.org/W3137707843
All OpenAlex metadata
Raw OpenAlex JSON
- OpenAlex ID
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https://openalex.org/W3137707843Canonical identifier for this work in OpenAlex
- Title
-
3D Printing and the Law: Are CAD Files Copyright-protected?Work title
- Type
-
articleOpenAlex work type
- Language
-
enPrimary language
- Publication year
-
2015Year of publication
- Publication date
-
2015-04-25Full publication date if available
- Authors
-
Tesh W. Dagne, Chelsea DubeauList of authors in order
- Landing page
-
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3584854Publisher landing page
- Open access
-
YesWhether a free full text is available
- OA status
-
greenOpen access status per OpenAlex
- OA URL
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https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3584854Direct OA link when available
- Concepts
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CAD, Relation (database), 3D printing, Computer science, Public domain, Process (computing), Digital printing, Engineering drawing, Computer graphics (images), Engineering, Database, Mechanical engineering, Operating system, Theology, PhilosophyTop concepts (fields/topics) attached by OpenAlex
- Cited by
-
4Total citation count in OpenAlex
- Citations by year (recent)
-
2022: 1, 2020: 1, 2019: 1, 2016: 1Per-year citation counts (last 5 years)
- Related works (count)
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20Other works algorithmically related by OpenAlex
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