DRM for 3D printed objects
A worrying development involving a patent on DRM for 3D printed objects. Librarians should take careful note and begin to educate themselves now.
“Most 3-D printing has been done in industry or by hobbyists who share their designs freely online. Now Intellectual Ventures, the company run by Nathan Myhrvold, the former Microsoft CTO and alleged patent troll, has been issued a patent on a system that could prevent people from printing objects using designs they haven’t paid for.
The patent, issued Tuesday by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, is titled “Manufacturing control system” and describes methods for managing “object production rights.”
The patent basically covers the idea of digital rights management, or DRM, for 3-D printers. Like with e-books that won’t open unless you pay Barnes & Noble and use its Nook reader, with Myhrvold’s technology your printer wouldn’t print unless you’ve paid up.”
Check out our list of 3D Printing resources for further discussion of the legal issues surrounding 3D printing.
On the same day, we (at the Free Software Foundation) announced our certification of an Aleph Objects 3D printer. Neither this nor any future product bearing the “Respects Your Freedom” certification will have DRM. The timing was coincidental, but the Intellectual Ventures patent is a great example of why we need this kind of certification program — so people can know which printers (and other computer-related equipment) to buy and which to avoid. Details of the program are at http://www.fsf.org/ryf. I hope people will support the printer manufacturers who refuse to implement these schemes which make the technology defective by design.