We are preparing for an “encore” of our successful Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 3D printing seminar, held in May. The “encore” will be held the afternoon of October 1, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Eiteljorg Museum. Registration will commence at 12:30 p.m., with a networking reception at 5:30 p.m. This half-day seminar will alert you to 3D printing technology’s game-changing opportunities and challenges, including: (1) new, complex products manufactured in one build with less waste by-product; (2) increased supply chain efficiency; (3) the transformation of labor markets; (4) manufacture “over the Internet” and “print to order” business models; (5) sell/share over the Internet; (6) intellectual property issues; (7) warranties and product liability concerns; and (8) challenges for spare parts businesses.
Soon it will be commonplace for customers to be able to 3D-print replacement parts. Remember, parts can already be printed in a variety of materials, including metal, ceramic, cement, and electronics. By scanning a part, a customer could quickly and efficiently print out a replacement part required for a machine, obviating the need to purchase that part from the original manufacturer.
In previous issues (and on our industry website) we discuss the obvious products liability and intellectual property concerns respecting such activities. It bears repeating that Gartner analysts predict $100 billion per year in intellectual property losses commencing in 2018 as a result of 3D printing.
Digitization democratized music. Before the Internet, musicians were beholden to the then-six major labels. If an artist did not get signed to a major label, it would be difficult for that artist to get music out to an audience. That all changed with the Internet. Now a musician can produce a high quality recording in the home, mix it, and then publish it all over the world. There is no denying that the music industry of the 21st century is no longer a business about selling pieces of plastic to people; that business has been superseded in large part. Certain people in the music industry lost their jobs as a result. Others found opportunity.
3D printing technology coupled with an Internet connection means file-sharing for the rest of the world. Threats and opportunities. Anyone can be a “manufacturer,” including end consumers. Away from control. Scan an object. Print it. Pirate Bay is now facilitating trading in a whole new category: PHYSIBLES.
Every business should be thinking today about 3D printing.
Our Indianapolis seminar will draw direct comparisons to the music industry – and suggest that we could learn something from the music industry’s bungling (in retrospect) response to digitization. Suing customers did not work. On October 1, 1982, Billy Joel’s 52nd Street was the first commercially-released CD album. Beginning in June 1999, Napster allowed people to easily share MP3 files with each other. Digitization profoundly changed the music industry. Now digitization is changing the way we make and sell almost everything else. To paraphrase Robert Johnson, we’re standing at the crossroads.
We have some compelling films prepared to illustrate these points.
Benesch is hosting a 3D Printing seminar on October 1, 2015 in Indianapolis, IN. To learn more or register, please contact Megan Pajakowski at mpajakowski@beneschlaw.com or 216.363.4639.
3D Printing has the potential to revolutionize the way we make everything. Because the technology will change our clients’ businesses, Benesch has formed a 3D Printing Industry Group, a multidisciplinary team led by core members of the firm’s Innovations, Information Technology & Intellectual (3iP) Property Group.
For more general information and to learn more (including by viewing more than 20 Benesch-produced videos on 3D printing), click here.
To contact Benesch’s 3D Printing Team, call or e-mail Mark Avsec (216.363.4151) mavsec@beneschlaw.com.