TY - JOUR
T1 - Securing innovation in digital manufacturing supply chains
T2 - an interdisciplinary perspective on intellectual property, technological protection measures and 3D printing/additive manufacturing
AU - Adu-Amankwa, Kwaku
AU - Daly, Angela
N1 - The lead author’s PhD research is supported by a scholarship from the University of Strathclyde.
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.
PY - 2023/8
Y1 - 2023/8
N2 - Digital supply chains (DSCs) provide several advantages over traditional physical supply chains, yet they also pose new risks, including for IP, especially when associated with threedimensional '3D' printing (3DP), also known as additive manufacturing (AM). Technological protection measure (TPM) usage in DSCs may help address the IP security issues of 3DP or AM but may result in overprotection and disregard for IP exceptions, which may also have a negative impact on innovation and other goals such as sustainability. This article considers how the IP security of 3DP/AM is addressed in DSCs, including by applying TPMs. We discuss whether the current approaches strike the right balance between the competing interests of different DSC actors. We also present some novel findings from a survey conducted with expert stakeholders to better understand IP security issues in practice. Our findings show that most respondents see IP and IP security efforts as both barriers and enablers to using 3DP/AM within DSCs. Also, the strategy chosen by most respondents for securing IP focuses on a technical approach, using inter alia TPMs. We infer that this dual perspective on IP and IP security may reflect the respondents' differing relationship with IP in DSCs, where one may wish to create, use and secure their own IP but also encounter barriers through the inaccessibility of the IP of third parties.
AB - Digital supply chains (DSCs) provide several advantages over traditional physical supply chains, yet they also pose new risks, including for IP, especially when associated with threedimensional '3D' printing (3DP), also known as additive manufacturing (AM). Technological protection measure (TPM) usage in DSCs may help address the IP security issues of 3DP or AM but may result in overprotection and disregard for IP exceptions, which may also have a negative impact on innovation and other goals such as sustainability. This article considers how the IP security of 3DP/AM is addressed in DSCs, including by applying TPMs. We discuss whether the current approaches strike the right balance between the competing interests of different DSC actors. We also present some novel findings from a survey conducted with expert stakeholders to better understand IP security issues in practice. Our findings show that most respondents see IP and IP security efforts as both barriers and enablers to using 3DP/AM within DSCs. Also, the strategy chosen by most respondents for securing IP focuses on a technical approach, using inter alia TPMs. We infer that this dual perspective on IP and IP security may reflect the respondents' differing relationship with IP in DSCs, where one may wish to create, use and secure their own IP but also encounter barriers through the inaccessibility of the IP of third parties.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85168433258&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/jiplp/jpad062
DO - 10.1093/jiplp/jpad062
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85168433258
VL - 18
SP - 587
EP - 602
JO - Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice
JF - Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice
IS - 8
M1 - jpad062
ER -