Anti-Copying Technology For 3D Printing: A Survey

In tacit recognition that patents and copyrights may be impotent, or that IP enforcement may be cost-prohibitive, in the face of widespread 3D printing "away from control" (which means making products without anyone knowing about it or being about to control it), many companies and researchers are developing technologies to attempt to prevent unauthorized 3D printed copying, or to enable 3D printed products to be identified as genuine.

Anti-Copying Efforts

Many companies and researchers are developing technology to attempt to prevent unauthorized 3D printing. One approach is to manage the entire pipeline of the 3D printing process from the initial design phase to manufacturing. San Francisco-based Identify3D has developed a suite of software tools designed to secure the 3D design-to-manufacturing process end-to-end. Identify3D's "Protect" software encrypts designs along with a fixed manufacturing policy that gives a design owner the ability to allow a fixed number