Lucas S. Osborn is Professor of Law at the Norman A. Wiggins School of Law, Campbell University, North Carolina. He has spoken about the implications of 3D printing on IP at numerous academic conferences and has published seven articles in leading journals on the topic. Since 2014, he has served as an elected member of the Confidentiality Commission for the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, The Hague, the Netherlands.
Introduction
1.3D printing technology's capabilities and effects
2. How 3D printing works and why it matters
3. Primer on intellectual property law
4. Can you patent a 3D printable file? (And why it matters)
5. Patents - direct infringement, individual infringement, and 'digital' infringement
6. Patents - indirect infringement and intermediaries
7. 3D printing and trademarks: the dissociation between design and manufacturing
8. Creativity and utility: 3D printable files and the boundary between copyright and patent protection
9. Design rights, tangibility, and free expression
10. DMFs and optimizing innovation incentives
Conclusion.