Michelle Lee welcomes ‘positive impact’ of 3D printing

The US Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) director Michelle Lee has spoken about the positive impact 3D printing has had on intellectual property.

Lee spoke at Microsoft’s technology lab in Washington, DC yesterday, September 30, about the impact 3D printing is having on patent applications.

“The USPTO has received about 1,700 applications per year over the last five years in the field of additive material technologies (3D printing) and in hundreds of different patent classification areas.

“So additive manufacturing, fuelled by the promise of IP protection, is taking off, and as we’ve seen it’s having a positive impact on people’s lives and the economy,” she said.

She went on to discuss the problems which IP owners may face with the new technology.

“By permitting the accurate duplication of objects that may be protected by a patent, trademark, or copyright, and shifting the manufacture of goods to homes and offices, it becomes difficult to identify who is duplicating IP-protected products, and harder to stop them.”

Lee also discussed the importance of training patent examiners on new technologies.

“This helps our agency get deserving new products and technologies to the marketplace with stronger patent protections and without undue delays.”