3D printing technology is no longer a new technology as it was
first introduced in the late 1980's. Due to the rapid
advancement of technology, 3D printing technology has been
continuously developing and aggressively expanding for use in many
industry sectors. Recently, 3D printers have even become more
accessible and affordable to consumers for everyday use which
threaten to become mainstream in the near future. Although 3D
printing technology provides consumers with the ability to
customise products anytime and anywhere, it nevertheless has a
negative impact on business community and marketplace.
Given the very nature of 3D printing technology which allows for
copying and creating existing 3D objects, the use of this new
technology has raised issues over intellectual property rights
(IPRs) concerning the four main areas i.e. copyright, trade mark,
patent and industrial design which are not addressed by the current
intellectual property (IP) law framework. Therefore,
