John K Londot of the Tallahassee office gives examples within the life sciences, weapons manufacturing and retail sectors of how 3D printing could bring new legal challenges. Writing in a US newspaper, he says: ‘Just as the explosion of digital media wreaked havoc on the copyright world after "file sharing" empowered people to disseminate music and video without the need of a retailer (think Napster, Limewire, and The Pirate Bay), 3D printing stands poised to revolutionize the world of design and patents.’

No deep pocket

Plaintiffs’ lawyers are already advertising to handle cases of injury resulting from 3D-printed products such as knives. However, Mr Londot says: ‘... the application of current standards of products liability law is not clear where there is no traditional, deep-pocketed "seller" of an offending product.’ Source: Tallahassee Democrat