3D Printers and Emerging IP Issues

3D printers allow users to create a multitude objects out of a wide range of materials. If you can create a computer model of the object, you can print it. A growing number of people are sharing modeling files and using printers to create three dimensional objects... protected designs, machine components, and even records with music. Now that these printers and modeling files are becoming more commonplace, there is growing concern with the protection of intellectual property.

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Is it Legal to Resell Your Digital Music?

ReDigi has created software that purports to remove old digital music files from the user's equipment and then allow that user to resell these files through ReDigi's on-line marketplace. Capitol Records filed suit against the company in 2012 claiming copyright infringement. The first sale doctrine seems to suggest that a purchased copy can be legally sold. But is a digital copy a true "copy" under copyright law?

UPDATE: In April 2013 the Court granted summary judgment for Capitol Records, finding that ReDigi's online sale of digital music constitutes copyright infringement. This ruling creates a distinction between physical items and digital ones. While this case applies to digital music, it may affect the resale of all digital works including e-books. ReDigi may appeal.

Theft of Trade Secrets Act Signed into Law

On December 28th, President Obama signed the Theft of Trade Secrets Act into law (18 U.S.C. §§ 1831-39). This act amends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 (EEA) and grants federal courts much broader jurisdiction over trade secret misappropriation cases. In the past, state laws governed trade secret protection and federal jurisdiction was only granted in cases where the trade secret misappropriation involved a product that the company used or sold in interstate or foreign commerce. Items used internally within a company did not fall within federal jurisdiction. The current law expands federal jurisdiction, allowing oversight in trade secret cases involving “a product or service used in or intended for use” in commerce.

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