Voice your thoughts to the US Copyright Office about not criminalizing third-party 3D printer filame

Source: http://www.3ders.org/

While we’ve been seeing a lot of interesting 3D bioprinting innovations passing by over the last year or so, most of It’s no secret that one of the biggest headaches that we’ve learned to live with in the world of 3D printing are various copyright hang-ups ranging from Intellectual Property rights to scanning and replicating public domain artwork, among others. Now, a new copyright issue has been raised that is less concerned about what you choose to print - and more about what you use to print it with.

Now, 3D printer manufacturer (and owner of MakerBot) Stratasys has requested that the US Copyright Office denies a proposal that would allow for the legalization of jailbreaking 3D printers in order to use a third-party feedstock. Considering how many new types of filament have continually been released over the past few months alone - including filament that’s approved for use in Space and filament that’s been made from recycled CDs and DVDs - this could actually turn into a larger issue that if it had come up even just a year ago.

Stratasys argues that under Section 1201 of 1998's Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it’s considered a felony to break “an effective means of access control,” including means used to verify if your filament has been approved by the manufacturer of your 3D printer - this ultimately prevents the ability for users to buy cheaper materials from third parties online or elsewhere.

The US Copyright Office cycles through proposals to change rules every three years, and Stratasys has been among the most prominent objectors for allowing the use of “jailbroken” 3D printers. Among other things, the Minnesota-based 3D printer manufacturer “dismisses the idea that anyone actually wants to use unapproved materials in their 3D printers, or that legal uncertainty would reduce the chances of someone feeling comfortable to do so,” says the Digital Right to Repair initiative, who are helping lead the effort to allow consumers the ability to fix their own products.

Those who have been in support of “jailbreaking” their 3D printers understand that it could forfeit any warranty attached with a printer - however they just simply want to have the right to use their property as they see fit.

“The only alleged evidence of any person experiencing uncertainty [around using unapproved materials in a 3D printer] consists of a single quote from a comment on a web forum ... [a]t a minimum, this comment is merely conclusory or anecdotal evidence that is insufficient to meet the substantial adverse impact standard required by the statute.”

Currently, there is one day left for those in support of using materials in 3D printers without permission from a corporate entity. The Digital Right to Repair initiative have made it easy to voice concerns and share stories in an effort to “tell the Copyright Office that copyright law should not stand in the way of using whatever material you choose in a 3D printer.” To make your voice be heard, head over to the Digital Right to Repair website.