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2012/11/22 00:36:42
Subject: Kickstarter sued over 3D Systems' printer patent
Crowd-funding website Kickstarter is being sued for its promotion of a new 3D printer.
More than 2,000 users contributed over $2.9m (£1.8m) to help Massachusetts-based Formlabs build the device.
However, 3D Systems - a leading maker of printers that turn computer design files into real-world objects - has alleged one of its patents was being infringed by the machine.
It has also filed a lawsuit against Formlabs itself.
The two defendants have yet to respond to the accusations.
Although patent lawsuits are relatively common in the US tech industry, this marks the first time Kickstarter has become involved in a case linked to a product marketed on its site, according to the country's Pacer (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system.
At the heart of the allegations is a printing technique called stereolithography.
It involves directing an ultraviolet laser across a liquid synthetic substance to cause a thin layer to solidify.
This is then repeated layer-by-layer, with the shape of the resulting object determined by the pattern drawn by the laser beam.
The technique has been about since the 1980s. However, California-headquartered 3D Systems identified a problem with the process - if a feature was too thin at one point and unsupported, it might not solidify properly or result in the object losing its shape.
The firm came up with a solution that involved adapting the procedure so that each layer did not need to be completed before moving onto the next one.
By staggering the point at which each part of a cross-section is solidified, there is greater opportunity to provide structural support for each feature.
3D Systems said this resulted in the opportunity to make more accurate, higher-resolution objects.
It was awarded a patent for the method in 1997.
When the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Media Lab researchers behind Formlabs submitted their fundraising campaign to Kickstarter, they made a virtue of the quality of the print-outs they could offer.
They said that by using stereolithography, their printer could offer "layer thicknesses and feature sizes that are worlds ahead of what is possible with" the existing technique used by budget printers, which melt plastic and squeeze it through a nozzle to build up each layer of an object.
They noted other high-definition 3D printers typically costed tens of thousands of dollars, but said they would provide their Form 1 printer to anyone who pledged $2,299 or more.
However, 3D Systems said it was "well known" in the industry that it had a significant portfolio of stereolithography-related patents and had already been involved in other lawsuits to defend the intellectual property.
As a result, it said, Formlabs must have known, or chosen not to find out, whether there might be a risk of patent infringement.
3D Systems' court filing notes the Techcrunch news site had quoted one of Formlabs' co-founders as saying that one of the reasons it had been able to offer its printer at such a low cost had been because several patents had expired "meaning that the team didn't need to pay high licensing fees to get this product to market".
It also highlights that the claim had been repeated by a second member of the Formlabs team in an interview given to SolidSmack.
The filing also flags news coverage of a report by JP Morgan bank specifically highlighting the disruptive threat that Formlabs cheap sales price posed to sales of 3D Systems's products.
The lawsuit says Kickstarter is also named as a defendant because the site took a 5% cut of the pledges made to Formlabs, and by promoting the Form 1 printer had caused "immediate and irreparable injury and damage to 3D Systems".
Although this is the first case of its kind Kickstarter has been involved in, it is not the only lawsuit it is fighting.
The firm is also embroiled in a dispute with ArtistShare - another crowd-funding site - about the rights to a patent describing how database software can be used to raise cash for creative works.
Spoiler:
Formlabs's printer was developed by researchers working at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Formlabs said its printer's output (above) was superior to similarly-priced alternatives
One analyst suggested that Formlabs could threaten sales of 3D System's equipment
I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around this one.
At its core, Kickstarter is simply a way to advertise a product to raise money to support that product.
It sounds like the same thing as Games Workshop suing DakkaDakka because of a banner ad for Chapterhouse Studios (to use a familiar example).
"Through the darkness of future past, the magician longs to see.
One chants out between two worlds: Fire, walk with me." - Twin Peaks
"You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchetman in the fight against violence. I pride myself in taking a punch and I'll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method... is love. I love you Sheriff Truman." - Twin Peaks
2012/11/22 04:23:01
Subject: Kickstarter sued over 3D Systems' printer patent
At first glance I don't see how it's a valid patent in the first place, as it doesn't seem to satisfy the requirement for non-obviousness given that anyone who has ever used Lego to build anything but a house has done the same thing.
"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."
-C.S. Lewis
2012/11/22 05:38:09
Subject: Kickstarter sued over 3D Systems' printer patent
AlexHolker wrote: At first glance I don't see how it's a valid patent in the first place, as it doesn't seem to satisfy the requirement for non-obviousness given that anyone who has ever used Lego to build anything but a house has done the same thing.
This is how some people do business unfortunately. This is something that I have seen (this type of legal aggression) on a professional level. Down right sickening as it stymies innovation and creativity.
Adam's Motto: Paint, Create, Play, but above all, have fun. -and for something silly below-
"We are the Ultramodrines, And We Shall Fear No Trolls. bear this USR with pride".
Also, how does one apply to be a member of the Ultramodrines? Are harsh trials involved, ones that would test my faith as a wargamer and resolve as a geek?
You must recite every rule of Dakka Dakka. BACKWARDS.
2012/11/22 12:25:18
Subject: Kickstarter sued over 3D Systems' printer patent
AlexHolker wrote: At first glance I don't see how it's a valid patent in the first place, as it doesn't seem to satisfy the requirement for non-obviousness given that anyone who has ever used Lego to build anything but a house has done the same thing.
Apple was (apparently) awarded a patent for 'a mobile telecommunications device whose primary input is via a a touch-screen interface' so I am not suprised they managed to patent the idea of not forming each layer sequentially.
As for the legal case, while I'm not a lawyer it looks like 3D systems are saying 'Kickstarter took money in exchange for allowing them to get their product idea off the ground, so therefore they helped the company infringe a patent!'
In my opinion, this is just an attempt to shut down FormLabs before they even begin,:
'Oh look, here's an innovative company that has created a product that could potentially hurt us because it is both better and cheaper, instead of investing money to make ourselves more competitive, let's just tie up all their funds in legal costs so they run out of money and shut down before they can get the product to market!' Oh how I wish that the above wasn't a typical modern business methodology (i.e. you don't have to provide the best service, you just have to provide the only service)
And that is why you hear people yelling FOR THE EMPEROR rather than FOR LOGICAL AND QUANTIFIABLE BASED DECISIONS FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE MAJORITY!
Phototoxin wrote:Kids go in , they waste tonnes of money on marnus calgar and his landraider, the slaneshi-like GW revel at this lust and short term profit margin pleasure. Meanwhile father time and cunning lord tzeentch whisper 'our games are better AND cheaper' and then players leave for mantic and warmahordes.
daveNYC wrote:The Craftworld guys, who are such stick-in-the-muds that they manage to make the Ultramarines look like an Ibiza nightclub that spiked its Red Bull with LSD.
2012/11/22 13:58:33
Subject: Kickstarter sued over 3D Systems' printer patent
2012- stopped caring
Nova Open 2011- Orks 8th Seed---(I see a trend)
Adepticon 2011- Mike H. Orks 8th Seed (This was the WTF list of the Final 16) Adepticon 2011- Combat Patrol Best General
2012/11/23 04:08:44
Subject: Kickstarter sued over 3D Systems' printer patent
It seems like patent cases like this one aren't really designed to stop other companies from producing the product, I think these companies are more interested in a non-voluntary licensing scheme.
File and/or buy up a bunch of generic patents, then just sit on them and spend zero $ or efford on R&D.
When somebody actually does the work and makes a working model, file suit against them. Be a kind and understanding patent-troll and tell them "well, we don't have to stop you from producing the 3D printer, but you are using our patent. How about you just give us 10% of the profit and we will let you use it?"
2012/11/23 04:55:52
Subject: Re:Kickstarter sued over 3D Systems' printer patent
Techniques for manufacturing an item have a very long history. Heck, there are patents on how to cut meat off a cow to get a specific piece.
Problem is the US patent system is so messed up, some patents are able to have their life extend by simply tweaking the method slightly. I heard more of this happening in pharmaceuticals, but wouldn't surprise me if it is also being done in other industries.
3D Systems wants this dead, so I don't see Formlabs settling out of court. Kickstarter may though. If Formlabs wins, then we have a date when 3D printers will become real cheap, 2017. The patent is only good for 20 years.
-and for something silly below-
Dark Angels (Black Armor Themed)
