Professor Dinusha Mendis hosts final workshop of the 3D Printing-IP project at the European Commission
On 14 October 2019, Professor Dinusha Mendis hosted the final workshop of the European Commission-funded project ‘The Intellectual Property Implications of the Development of Industrial 3D Printing’ in Brussels.
The project aims to formulate a clear picture of the Intellectual Property (IP) framework that could enhance the competitiveness of the Additive Manufacturing (AM) sector in Europe. As such, the workshop was attended by academics, practitioners, businesses and policymakers thereby bringing together key stakeholders in the field of 3D printing and IP laws.
The workshop commenced with a welcome from Amaryllis Verhoeven, Head of the Intellectual Property Unit at the European Commission. Thereafter, Dinusha Mendis (Project Lead) presented the main results, which was complemented by presentations from invited speakers and a panel discussion consisting of members of the project team and industry partners.
Ben Redwood (3D Hubs), Phil Reeves (Reeves Insight Ltd) and Phill Dickens (Added Scientific Ltd) considered the future of manufacturing and its different applications and uses for industry as well as consumers.
Thereafter, various issues from the Study were explored in a panel discussion. Panellists consisting of Lieven Claerhout / Bram Smits (Materialise NV), Ann Marie Shillito (Anarkik3D), and members of the project team (see below), considered IP issues in light of the views from industry, obtained as part of the Study. In bringing the workshop to its conclusion, Jean-Francois Romainville (IDEA Consult) spoke about next steps, in taking this project and other similar projects forward. Virginie Fossoul, (Legal and Policy Officer, European Commission), closed the workshop with some concluding remarks.
The presentations, as well as the panel discussion, can be accessed/watched on the European Commission website.
The project, which was awarded to Bournemouth University in 2018 by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, has been led by Professor Dinusha Mendis (Principal Investigator) from the Department of Humanities and Law at Bournemouth University.
