Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
If you browse any website that offers 3D printed goods or design iles for
sale or swap, you will probably encounter a few items that are probably under
copyright. The reason big companies that deal in brand name products aren't
yet suing small designers and 3D printing enthusiasts isn't goodwill, it's money.
3D printed goods that could arguably violate someone's copyrights are not sold
in high enough volumes to trigger the alarm bells at a global toy or consumer
goods company.
Patents
The word “patent” comes from the Latin word patere, which means “to lay
open.” A common misconception about patents is that getting a patent means
you keep your idea a secret. It's actually the opposite. When an inventor is
issued a patent on an invention, the country's patent ofice makes publicly
available the information necessary to enable another person “skilled at the
art” to replicate that invention.
One of the reasons governments set up a centralized patent ofice was to
give inventors incentive to publicly disclose their inventions. According to
Wikipedia, a patent is in effect “a limited property right that the govern-
ment offers to inventors in exchange for their agreement to share the details
of their inventions with the public. Like any other property right, it may
be sold, licensed, mortgaged, assigned or transferred, given away, or simply
abandoned.” 7
There's a signiicant legal difference between a patent and a trade secret.
A trade secret is when an inventor prevents competitors from using the same
product idea by simply not telling anyone how the product works. A trade
secret is never made public, nor does it get a formal state-issued period of
protection, nor does it ever expire.
To be patentable, an invention must be a new, useful, and non-obvious
process, machine, article of manufacturing, or composition of matter. In the
United States, a patent lasts 20 years from the date that its application was iled
with the patent ofice. Once a patent is issued, it provides its inventor the right
to exclude others from practicing the invention. Inventors apply for a patent
at a centrally managed government agency, which in the United States is the
U.S. Patent Ofice. An inventor on a patent application can be a single person,
a group of people, a single company, or several companies.
The only way to enforce patent rights is in court. If you're an inventor and
you own a patent and think another company is using your invention without
 
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