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3D printing patents expiring
The Challenge And Opportunity of 3D Printing Patent 684116B2 « Fabbaloo
Diagram from US Patent 684116B2 [Source: Google Patents]You likely are not familiar with US patent 684116B2, but you’ll likely be hearing a lot more about it in the next few years.
Patents are essentially a government-granted monopoly for a specific method for a limited time period. During that period the patent owner has exclusive rights to use the method, and can seek damages or pursue other legal avenues against any other party that attempts to use the same method.
It’s a kind of reward for the ingenuity of the inventors, as they can leverage the patent’s powers to create a good business. Usually this means paying premium prices for a product based on the patent’s method.
However, eventually the patent’s term expires and at that point the method is effectively public domain; anyone can use it without fear of legal action. Typically this results in a small explosion of smaller vendors marketing similar products based on the expired method, often at far lower price levels and sometimes with unusual differences that the original patent owner had not considered.
Readers of this publication will be aware of a case involving 3D printing that happened in 2009. At that time Stratasys’ original patent on the FDM process expired, opening the door for others to produce 3D printers with the same method. We all know what happened next: hundreds of 3D printer startup companies emerged, with MakerBot being one the earliest success stories.
Since then the intense competition among these new entrants has driven the technology to levels unimagined years ago. Today we have 3D printers offering considerable automation, a massive choice of materials, equipment size, and all with significant reliability improvements. It’s a good time for users of FFF 3D printer manufacturers.
All of that happened due to the expiry of the Stratasys patent.
Back to US Patent 684116B2. This patent is currently assigned to 3D Systems, one of the larger players in 3D printer manufacturing. The patent’s abstract says:
“A selective deposition modeling method and apparatus for dispensing a curable phase change material.
The dispensing temperature of the material is set at or less than a thermally stable temperature value for the material in which the reactive component of the material remains substantially uncured when held at the temperature for a desired time period. The dispensed material is provided with an environment that enables the material to solidify to form layers of the object. The solidified material is normalized to a desired layer thickness and is then cured by exposure to actinic radiation.”
At top you can see an image of a conceptual machine that makes use of the patent’s method. Basically it describes a moving tool head that selectively deposits a layer of liquid photopolymer resin, and a UV light source that then solidifies that layer. This process repeats, layer-by-layer, to build up a complete 3D object.
This process seems to be what 3D Systems use in their (Multijet) MJP line of 3D printers. Here’s a video of someone using a 3D Systems ProJet MJP 2500. At the 2:50 mark, you can see the system depositing and solidifying the photopolymer as described in the patent.
What’s the big deal here? It turns out that patent 684116B2 expires on October 9, 2022. That’s only two years and seven months away.
After that date, anyone could theoretically market a device that uses the same process described in patent 684116B2. You can be sure that will happen.
But what will be the effect on 3D Systems? What will change after that date?
In a way, today is similar to the situation the 3D printing industry found itself in 2007, a couple of years before the Stratasys patent expired. It is highly likely there are startups or even existing 3D printer companies starting now to design and build new 3D printers that use this process. They cannot sell them until October 2022, but they can certainly build them stealthily in a lab.
The strategy here would be to quietly develop the systems so that they are ready to be announced and released when the patent expires.
If one were to start developing a system as the patent expired, you’d be far behind others who smartly started earlier.
Thus in the fall of 2022 it is highly likely we’ll see a slew of announcements for new 3D printers using this process. It could be 2009 all over again, where multiple parties compete for the business through innovations and price competition.
This would be very good news for those interested in using this 3D printing process.
While the good news lands on users, the opposite could face 3D Systems, who at that point would lose their monopoly on the process. However, it’s not all doom and gloom; there are plenty of interesting options for 3D Systems.
It is important to remember that 3D Systems’ MJP technology is very mature and quite powerful. It might take some years for new entrants to match their capabilities. This also happened after 2009 in the FFF world.
3D Systems will also have a large amount of equipment placed at customer sites that’s under longer term leases.
These machines are financially obligated to stay operating during the lease period. During that period these clients will continue to purchase materials for their MJP systems from 3D Systems at similar price levels. Thus 3D Systems has a guaranteed revenue stream for years to come. Even now, eleven years after the Stratasys patent expired, that company still has significant material revenue from their FDM fleet.
Stratasys made a strong move a couple of years after their major patent expiry by acquiring Objet. In the end, it turned out to be Objet acquiring Stratasys, but the strategy was still valid: Objet still had multiple active patents on 3D printing, and they would allow Stratasys to continue operating in a similar manner for some years forward. That technology is now their leading product.
Could 3D Systems consider a major acquisition in a similar strategy? I think that while they’ve struggled financially, they still have considerable resources and could make a move on another party.
If this was considered, I don’t believe it would be to attempt an acquisition of Carbon or Desktop Metal, as their valuations are likely higher than 3D Systems could afford. But there are many smaller players with interesting technologies that could be considered.
The situation with patent 684116B2 is surely to be one of the big concerns for the as-yet-unnamed incoming CEO for 3D Systems.
Via Google Patents
How Patents Die: Expiring 3D Printing Patents | Articles | Finnegan
Article
April 1, 2016
Robotics Business Review
By John F. Hornick
Authored by John F. Hornick
As I explain in my new book, 3D Printing Will Rock the World, 3D printing has been around for about 30 years, which means that some of the earliest patents in this space are fond memories. From 2002 to 2014, about 225 early 3D printing patents expired.
About 16 key patents relating to 3D printing processes called Material Extrusion, Powder Bed Fusion, and Vat Photopolymerization expired in 2013-14. This means that 3D printing technology that is at least 20 years old is now available for anyone to use.
When a patent expires, the invention goes into the public domain. But figuring out when a patent has actually expired can be tricky. The current U.S. patent term is 20 years from the date the patent application was filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Don’t assume, though, that every patent necessarily expires 20 years after its filing date.
For applications filed on or after June 8, 1995, the patent term is 20 years from the filing date (or 20 years from the filing date of an earlier application if it claims the benefit of that application).
For patents that were in force on June 8, 1995, or that issued from an application filed before that date, the patent term is the longer of (a) 20 years from the application filing date (or 20 years from the filing date of an earlier application if it claims the benefit of that application), and (b) 17 years from the patent grant.
The technology covered by a patent is defined and limited by its claims. A patent is infringed by making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing a machine, component, or process that falls within the scope of its claims. So for expired 3D printing patents, the only technology that can be used safely, without infringement, is the technology covered by the claims and nothing more, not even improvements on the technology.
In other words, an expired 3D printing patent gives only the right to use that specific 20-year-old technology. To illustrate, let’s assume you know that a particular patent covering a coffee mug has expired. You might think you can freely make coffee mugs after the patent has expired, but if your new mugs have an improvement, like a protective sleeve, they might infringe a different, non-expired patent that covers coffee mugs with sleeves.
For a real-world example, consider Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone patent. After it expired in the late 1800s, anyone was free to use the technology covered by its claims.
But telephone technology has come a long way since then, generating thousands of patents that companies like Apple and Samsung are warring over today. The freedom to use Bell’s technology doesn’t amount to much when the technology has long been surpassed.
So are expiring patents for old 3D printing technology going to change either the industrial or consumer 3D printing industries? For the former, probably not much. For the latter, there certainly are a lot of startups making Material Extrusion machines.
But will they be able to compete with innovators who obtain patents for improvements or new ways of 3D printing on the consumer level? While only time will tell, it seems unlikely.
Even though a few old 3D printing patents have expired, there is no shortage of patents and published applications in the additive manufacturing space (about 12,000).
Approximately 8,000 utility and design patents have been issued that relate in some way to additive manufacturing or rapid prototyping.
Since 2000, approximately 4,000 applications have published that relate in some way to 3D printing. New applications are being filed all the time.
Some of these 12,000+ patents and applications cover 3D printing machines and machine components, but many are method patents, which cover methods, processes, and systems (including software) for making products and materials.
Others cover designs and materials. Importantly, although many of these patents and applications cover incremental improvements to old technology, others cover basic advances and whole new ways of making things.
Again, today’s telephones are far different from Bell’s.
So making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing a 3D printer that does anything beyond the scope of the claims of an expired patent may infringe some other patent. If the printer includes any features or functionality covered by an improvement patent, the owner of that patent may assert an infringement claim. The same is true of method patents.
There is no quick and easy way to know if an additive manufacturing machine or process infringes one of the 8,000 patents or could infringe one of the 4,000 published applications (there is no potential liability for practicing the claims of a pending application, unless and until it issues as a patent).
Before making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing any machine or component, or using any additive manufacturing process, ask a patent attorney if you’re concerned about infringement. The attorney can perform a patent search, analyze the relevant patents in the space, and provide a "freedom to operate" opinion.
On the other hand, the attorney may tell you that building and selling your 3D printer will infringe someone’s patent. You might also ask the attorney to provide an opinion on whether such patents are likely to be declared invalid by a court or the USPTO. But be forewarned. Even with an opinion saying you don’t infringe or that the patent is probably invalid, or both, you could still be sued for patent infringement, and even lose an infringement lawsuit.
Having such opinions, however, provide some peace of mind and may protect you from a charge that you willfully infringed a patent.
Key 3D Printing Patent Expiration
The start of this year could mark a new milestone in the 3D printing revolution as one of the key 3D printing technology patents related to Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) expires. ). The owner of the patent in question is Carl R. Deckard, who registered an application for this patent on May 31, 1994, and received it on January 28, 1997.
Most US patents expire after 20 years, but there is an exception to this rule that applies to patents issued prior to June 8, 1995. (Deckard's patent no. US5597589 is included in this exception). The duration of patent applications filed before this date is longer than one of the following two options: either 17 years from the date of issue of the application, or 20 years from the earliest date of registration of the application.
Carl R.
Deckard Patent No. US5597589, is a continuation or divisional application of prior patents filed up to 1995, namely: patent No. US5376580 registered July 10, 1992, No. US5132143 - June 21, 1990, and No. US4863538 - October 17, 1986.
So, in this case, the shortest period of validity is 20 years from the earliest date of registration of the main patent, let's say that the application for the main patent was registered on October 17, 1986, then such a patent would expire on October 17, 2006.
A longer patent term would be 17 years from the date of issue of the patent on January 28, 1997, and it expired the other day, or rather on January 28, 2014!
This date would coincide with the date predicted by Duanne Scott, Design Promotion Specialist at Shapeways. He said that SLS technology will become available in February this year.
So get ready folks, the 3D printing revolution is coming.
SLS is a low cost, high resolution 3D printing technology, hence its revolutionary potential.
The following is a description of Deckard's patent for "Apparatus for the production of parts by selective sintering":
"Apparatus for selective sintering of a layer of powder for the production of a part made from a plurality of sintered layers. The device consists of a computer that controls the laser and directs the laser energy onto the powder to create a sintered mass. The computer either determines or is programmed in such a way that the limits of the boundaries of the desired cross-sections of the part area are set. At each cross section, the laser beam scans the powder layer, then proceeds to sinter it within the cross section. Next, the powder is applied, and the layers are sequentially baked until the part is completely formed. Desirably, the powder dispenser includes a drum that moves horizontally across the target area of the part and rotates in the reverse direction to smooth and distribute the powder in an even layer over the entire target area.
The downflow system provides temperature control of the air flow through the target area to create an average powder temperature during the sintering process.
Regarding the consequences of patent expiration, whether they come immediately or more gradually, people differ on this, but one thing is already clear that as soon as certain barriers to intellectual property are removed, this leads to increased competition and lower prices for consumers .
This has already happened with a 3D printing technology called Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). After the FDM patent expired, sales of these printers skyrocketed, and their price dropped from a few thousand dollars to $300, given the fact that many of these low-cost 3D printers were made in China.
2014 will be an important year for the development of 3D printing. Another patent expires this year:
"Simultaneous Multilayer Vulcanization in Stereolithography"
Application Date: April 25, 1994.
Date of issue of the patent: January 28, 1997
Expiration date April 25, 2014
US Patent No.
US5597520
Two other patents, US6007318 and US5554336 expire in 2015 and 2016. respectively.
"Method and device for the production of three-dimensional objects using stereolithography"
Application registration date: June 5, 1995
Date of issue of the patent: September 10, 1996
Expiration date June 5, 2015
US Patent No. US5554336
Owner: 3D Systems
"Method and Apparatus for Prototyping 3D Objects"
Application Date: December 20, 1996
Date of issue of the patent: December 28, 1996
Expiration date December 20, 2016
US Patent No. US6007318
Owner: Z Corp
Other patents expiring this year include 3 3D Systems patents (all patents include the SLS method) and 6 patents from Z Corp. Stratasys" including FDM, support material removal and optimization. The technology described in these patents promises to be an incredible breakthrough in the development of 3D printing technology.
Thus, in 2014. – and perhaps even today – we can start compiling a historical chronicle of 3D printing.
Thanks to Jenny Caret dash Caret for providing this patent information.
Article prepared for 3dtoday.ru
patents for laser sintering technology expire / Sudo Null IT News
alizar
Computer hardware 3D printers
February 2014 marks the expiration of patents for a key selective laser sintering (SLS) technology that was invented in the 1980s and is now used in industrial 3D printers. The existence of these patents significantly limits competition in the market and does not make it possible to mass-produce cheap 3D printers of this type.
After the expiration of patents, we can expect an influx of cheap Chinese 3D printers and a very serious drop in the prices of these devices, says Duann Scott, an evangelist at Shapeways, a company that prints models on 3D printers for designers, architects and others.
customers who cannot afford to buy a professional grade device.
There are good reasons for this opinion. When the patents for the more primitive fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing technology expired, it led to the emergence of many Open Source printer models and a sharp drop in prices. Among them is the famous Makerbot.
Makerbot Industries Replicator 2 Desktop Printer
The company was recently bought by 3D printing giant Stratasys for $400 million. Curiously, the founder of Stratasys is Scott Crump, the inventor of FDM technology.
Just a couple of years after the expiration of the FDM patents, the cost of such printers dropped from a few thousand dollars to just $200, that is, ten times.
$200 Model A6 LT
There has been a real revolution and “democratization” of 3D printing in the market. Hundreds (!) different models appeared. Now everyone can buy a desktop FDM printer.
Roughly the same should happen after February 2014 with SLS technology, which is head and shoulders above FDM in all respects.
