3D Printing and Beyond
Intellectual Property and Regulation
Edited by Dinusha Mendis, Mark Lemley and Matthew Rimmer
Dinusha Mendis, Mark Lemley and Matthew Rimmer
In a 2006 short story, ‘Printcrime’, Cory Doctorow imagined a dystopian future of contraband 3D printers. In the work, police try to shut down a bootleg operation engaged in the 3D printing of intellectual property. In his 2009 novel Makers, Doctorow explored the rise of the maker community, and its do-it-yourself ethic.
Enforcing Cybersecurity in Developing and Emerging Economies
Institutions, Laws and Policies
Zeinab Karake, Rana A. Shalhoub and Huda Ayas
Dinusha Mendis, Mark Lemley and Matthew Rimmer
Titilayo Adebola
This article discusses the protection of new plant varieties in Africa and the African Model Law through the lens of its key protagonist, Professor Johnson Ekpere. It urges African countries to consult the African Model Law as a guide when designing plant variety protection systems. It is hoped that by offering Professor Ekpere's biography, personal experiences, and first-hand account of the African Model Law, African countries may better understand the Model Law as a significant response to the small-scale-farmer- and farming-community-centred agricultural systems on the continent and embrace its continued relevance.
Tyrone Berger
Virtual or non-physical designs (referred to as ‘graphical user interfaces’ (GUIs) and screen icons) are important design elements in many modern products. The widespread adoption of touch screen technologies, for example, means that software applications running on computer hardware are now used to provide user interface functionality, in some cases even providing an identity for the product. The fact that these visual features are only present when the function is active should not detract from the importance of those features to both the visual appeal and functionality of the device from a user's perspective. In recent years, GUIs and screen icons have been increasingly lodged as registered design applications. However, registrability (in the sense of compliance with substantive design law) is not considered during IP Australia's registration process, and, as such, GUIs and screen icons are appearing on the designs register without undergoing substantive examination. In many cases their status in Australia's designs system is currently uncertain. This article considers the background to this subject in Australia, and suggests how the substantive design law requirements and practice could be recast in light of the increase in non-physical designs being registered. Lastly, some concluding remarks are offered that may go some way towards initiating a broader conversation about the role of design protection in the new ‘experience age’.
Irene Calboli
This article explores the relationship between national rules on the exhaustion of intellectual property (IP) rights and cross-border trade within regional organizations. In particular, this article compares three distinct approaches adopted by: the European Union (EU); the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA); and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Based on this comparison, this article concludes that in order to effectively promote the free movement of goods, members of regional organizations need to consistently adopt national policies on IP exhaustion that support, at least, a system of regional exhaustion such as currently found in the EU. However, this article also posits that different regional organizations may decide to adopt a variety of approaches on IP exhaustion. These variations may be based on the different stages of national development of the various members of a regional organization or the size of national markets and economic strategies, including their current level of international trade and whether this trade is primarily with other members of the same organization or with third countries. With time, different national approaches on IP exhaustion may change and lead to a higher level of harmonization to promote a full-scale free movement of goods within a regional organization.