The Maker Movement: Copyright Law, Remix Culture And 3D Printing

• Author: Matthew Rimmer
• Position: BA (Hons), LLB (Hons) (ANU), PhD (UNSW). Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology
• Pages: 51-84

THE MAKER MOVEMENT: COPYRIGHT LAW,

REMIX CULTURE AND 3D PRINTING

MATTHEW RIMMER*

CONTENTS

I

Introduction ..................................................................................................

51

II

Save Left Shark: Copyright Law, Internet Memes, and 3D Printing ....

55

III

Michelangelo’s Statues .................................................................................

61

IV

Marcel Duchamp’s Chess Set .....................................................................

63

V

Bring It On:

Star Athletica

v.

Varsity Brands

...........................................

69

VI

Game of Thrones: Copyright Law and Intermediary Liability ..............

74

VII

Copyright Law, Digital Locks, and 3D Printing ......................................

77

VIII

Conclusion ....................................................................................................

80

I INTRODUCTION

3D printing is a process of making physical objects from three-dimensional

digital models.1 3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing – rather than a

traditional form of subtractive manufacturing. 3D printing is a disruptive

technology, which promises to transform art and design, science and

manufacturing, and the digital economy.

The Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, the Hon. Christopher

Pyne, has highlighted the key role of 3D printing for manufacturing and material

science in Australia: ‘Manufacturing remains a key driver in our economy, but as

the industrial landscape changes, the sector needs to transition to more

innovative and economically viable technology.’ 2 Pyne stressed: ‘Emerging

technologies such as metal 3D printing offer huge productivity gains and have

the potential to turn Australia's manufacturing industry on its head.’3 Likewise,

* BA (Hons), LLB (Hons) (ANU), PhD (UNSW). Professor of Intellectual Property and Innovation,

Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology.

1 Anna Kaziunas France,

Make: 3D Printing. The Essential Guide to 3D Printers

(Maker Media,

2013); and Christopher Barnatt,

3D Printing: The Next Industrial Revolution

(CreateSpace, 2013).

2 Christopher Pyne, ‘3D Printing Brings New Dimension to Australian Manufacturing’ (Media

Release, 19 November 2015) <http://minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/pyne/media-releases/3d-

printing-brings-new-dimension-australian-manufacturing>.

3 Ibid.

52

The University of Western Australia Law Review

vol 41(2)

the Australian Labor Party’s Tim Watts and Jim Chalmers have discussed the

role of 3D printing in respect of intellectual property, innovation, and trade.4

There have been a number of early cultural texts on the topic of 3D

printing. Cory Doctorow’s 2009 fictional story

Makers

was significant in

promoting the culture of the maker community.5 Chris Anderson’s 2012 non-

fiction work

Makers

considered the history of the industrial revolution, the rise

of 3D printing, and the long tail of things.6 His work also reflects upon the

development of open licensing and open hardware, and the financing of maker

businesses. This rather evangelical work helped inspire wider public interest in

the field. In

The Maker Movement Manifesto

, Mark Hatch, the CEO of

TechShop, provides a practical guide to the applications of 3D printing, and the

development of communities of practice.7 He is particularly interested in the

development of distributed and flexible manufacturing, and the acceleration of

innovation. The engaging 2014 Lopez and Tweel documentary

Print the

Legend

provided a portrait of the emergence of 3D printing start-up companies

in the United States.8 In 2014, the Australian journalist and cultural critic Guy

Rundle also undertook fieldwork in his study on 3D printing and robotics,

visiting key hubs of 3D printing in the United States.9 In his work upon the

robotics revolution, Martin Ford has explored the intersection between 3D

printing and automation.10 Futurist Jeremy Rifkin has been interested in the

intersections between 3D printing, the Internet of Things, and collaborative

capitalism.11 Likewise, Robin Chase has been concerned about how 3D printing

fits into a larger model of the sharing economy.12

4 Commonwealth,

Parliamentary Debates

, House of Representatives, 2 February 2013, 1214-8 (Tim

Watts); Jim Chalmers, ‘3D Printing: Not Yet a New Industrial Revolution, but Its Im pact Will Be

Huge’,

The Guardian

(online), 11 December 2013

<http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/11/3d-printing-not-yet-a-new-industrial-

revolution-but-its-impact-will-be-huge>.

5 Cory Doctorow,

Makers

(Tom Doherty Associates, 2009).

6 Chris Anderson,

Makers: The New Industrial Revolution

(Random House, 2012).

7 Mark Hatch,

The Maker Movement Manifesto: Rules for Innovation in the New World of Crafters,

Hackers, and Tinkerers

(McGraw-Hill, 2013).

8Print the Legend (Directed by Luis Lopez and Clay Tweel, Audax Films, 2014).

9 Guy Rundle,

A Revolution in the Making: 3D Printing, Robots and the Future

(Affirm Press, 2014).

10 Martin Ford,

The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future

(Basic Books,

2015).

11 Jer emy Rifkin,

The Zero Marginal Cost Society: The Internet of Things, the Collaborative

Commons, and the Eclipse of Capitalism

(St Martin’s Press, 2014).

12 Robin Chase,

Peers Inc.: How People and Platforms are Inventing the Collaborative Economy and

Reinventing Capitalism

(Headline Press, 2015).

2017]

The Maker Movement:

Copyright Law, Remix Culture And 3D Printing

53

In terms of legal writing in respect of 3D printing, a number of works have

sought to address the relationship between intellectual property and 3D

printing. As a public policy expert at Public Knowledge, and as a lawyer

working for Shapeways, Michael Weinberg (2010, 2013) has written a number

of significant treatises on intellectual property and 3D Printing.13 Associate

Professor Dinusha Mendis and her colleagues have undertaken legal and

empirical research on intellectual property and 3D printing for the United

Kingdom Intellectual Property Office.14 In 2015, Professor Mark Lemley from

Stanford Law School observes, ‘A world in which sophisticated 3D printers are

widely available would change the economics of things in a fundamental way.’15

Amongst other things, he says that 3D Printing provides challenges and

opportunities for intellectual property in ‘an age without scarcity’.16 John

Hornick has examined the topic of intellectual property and 3D printing from

the perspective of a legal practitioner.17 From Australia, Dr Angela Daly has

written on the socio-legal aspects of 3D printing in 2016. 18 The World

Intellectual Property Organization in 2015 has sought to investigate 3D

printing as a breakthrough technology in terms of emerging developments in

respect of intellectual property law, practice, and policy.19

13 Michael Weinberg,

It Will Be Awesome If They Don’t Screw It Up: 3D Printing, Intellectual

Property, and the Fight over the Next Great Disruptive Technology

(Public Knowledge, 2010)

<https://www.publicknowledge.org/files/docs/3DPrintingPaperPublicKnowledge.pdf>; Michael

Weinberg, ‘What’s the Deal with Copyright and 3D Printing?’ on

Public Knowledge

(29 January

2013) <https://www.publicknowledge.org/news-blog/blogs/whats-the-deal-with-copyright-and-3d-

printing>.

14 Dinusha Mendis, ‘Customising the Future Through New Business Models: The Impact of 3D

Printing and 3D Scanning on Mass Customisation and its Implications for Copyright Law’ (2015)

Script-ed

, 1-27; Dinusha Mendis, ‘Networks of Power in Digital Copyright Law and Policy; Political

Salience, Expertise and the Legislative Process’ (2015) 37 (7)

European Intellectual Property Review

474-475; Dinusha Mendis, Davide Secchi, and Phil Reeves, ‘A Legal and Empirical Study into the

Intellectual Property Implications of 3D Printing’ (Research Report,

UK Intellectual Property Office,

2015)

<

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/421222/A_Legal_an

d_Empirical_Study_into_the_Intellectual_Property_Implications_of_3D_Printing_-

_Exec_Summary_-_Web.pdf>; Dinusha Mendis and Davide Secchi, ‘A Legal and Empirical Study of

3D Printing Online Platforms and an Analysis of User Behaviour’ (Research Report,

UK Intellectual

Property Office, 2015) <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-legal-and-empirical-study-

of-3d-printing-online-platforms-and-an-analysis-of-user-behaviour-study-1>.

15 Mark Lemley, ‘IP in a World Witho ut Scarcity’ (2015 ) 90

New York University Law Review

460-

515.

16 Ibid.

17 John Hornick,

3D Printing Will Rock the World

(CreateSpace, 2015).

18 Angela Daly,

Socio-Legal Aspects of the 3D Printing Revolution

(Palgrave Pivot, 2016).

19 World Int ellectual Property Organization, ‘World IP Report: Breakthrough Inn ovation and

Economic Growth’ (Report, World Intellectual Property Organization, 2015)