3D printing is reaching the mainstream market, with the industry growing from $288 million in 2008 to $5.7 billion in 2013. While high prices, lack of content, and quality issues currently inhibit widespread adoption, falling prices, improved applications, and open-source initiatives are driving growth. The author outlines a timeline where 3D printing moves from industrial to eCommerce to local to home use within the next 10 years. He also discusses several important legal questions around patents, copyright, and regulation that will be raised by expanded 3D printing adoption.

1. 3D Printing:
Mo’ Markets, Mo’ Problems
Aram Sinnreich, Ph.D.
Rutgers University School of Communication & Information
This text is freely available under a Creative Commons 3.0
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

2. 3D Printers are Reaching the Mainstream
$5.7 billion
$288 million

3. 3D Printing Drivers and Inhibitors
INHIBITORS
High
price
points
Scarce
content
Quality
gap
Patent
landscape
High
stakes
Lack of
standards
Education &
Patent outsourcing
Falling
prices
Better
apps
Open
source
expiry,
Aggressive legislation,
R&D
regulation
DRIVERS

4. 3D Printing Adoption Timeline: 4 Phases
Today
Industrial
2-3 years
10+ years
5-7 years
eCommerce
Local
Home

5. Legal Questions & Considerations
Patent
• SLS/SLA patents expiring 2014
• Secondary patents controlled by 3D Systems & Stratasys
• Will ease of replication undermine the core function of patents?
Copyright
• What constitutes a “useful” article?
• How does merger doctrine apply to digital 3D models?
• Secondary liability for printers and service providers?
Other
• Whither trademark?
• How to avoid the “piracy” battles of 2000s
• DRM?
• DMCA for design?
• Safety regulation & liability?

6. Thank you.
Aram Sinnreich, Ph.D.
sinn@rutgers.edu
Books by Aram Sinnreich
Mashed Up (2010)
www.mashed-up.com
The Piracy Crusade (2013)
www.piracycrusade.com