3-D PRINTING YOUR WAY DOWN THE GARDEN PATH: 3-D PRINTERS, THE COPYRIGHTIZATION OF PATENTS, AND A METHOD FOR MANUFACTURERS TO AVOID THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY’S FATE JOSEPH C. STORCH * What happens when a home user can scan and print a physical item, or download plans to print a physical item from the Internet, as easily as he or she can rip and share a song or movie? With home 3-D printers on the horizon, the question will begin to ring louder. Manufacturers of tangible goods should heed lessons learned about infringement of music, movies and books when these 3-D printers arrive in homes across the country. A key lesson learned from peer-to-peer file sharing of digital content is that once a technological monopoly (being the only one who can efficiently produce an item) on a protected item falls, the legal monopoly of intellectual property law is insufficient to protect property rights. Once efficient and inexpensive 3-D printers arrive, businesses can (1) shift to a market or bifurcated model in pricing goods, (2) seek to persuade people not to misuse intellectual property for moral reasons, (3) seek to use the judicial and legislative systems to (temporarily) slow sharing of protected designs, or (4) fade away. This article argues that the third solution (using the courts and legislatures to protect the legal monopoly once the technological monopoly is lost) sets a price on violations while removing any moral disincentive, and that only a combination of the first two methods—moral persuasion and market model pricing—will in fact protect tangible goods manufacturers from catastrophic losses.
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................251 A. A Brief History of Reacting to Technological Change...........................251 I. COPYRIGHT AND PATENT LAW EXIST TO ADVANCE SOCIETY, NOT TO PROTECT ARTISTS .........................................................................................253 *
Joseph Storch is an Associate Counsel in the State University of New York’s Office of General Counsel and the Chair of the Student Affairs Practice Group. He concentrates his practice and research on intellectual property issues faced by higher education institutions, and on student affairs and the First Amendment. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego, summa cum laude, where he served as Vice President of the Student Association, and of Cornell Law School where he served as Chancellor of the Moot Court Board. The author wishes to thank the following individuals for substantive comments on earlier drafts: Larry Edelman, David Liebschutz, Naomi Storch, Will Versfelt, Heidi Wachs, and Stephen Weinberg. The views represented in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the State University of New York.
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