Posted on December 29, 2017 at 12:00 AM by Chuck Fox
3D printing has changed the world. Whether it is revitalizing manufacturing processes, sparking innovation in the medical field, or making that perfect fitting LEGO part, the opportunities that 3D printing affords feel boundless. But in the face of this unbridled potential, there are rules that protect intellectual property.
Most people understand the concept of 3D printing; accurately produced layers of material are printed and combined to produce a useful 3D object. While the process is conceptually simple, an ethical dilemma occurs if the computer file (referred to as a Computer Aided Design or CAD file) that encodes the object was used without permission or knowledge of the creator.
