The Intelligent Manufacturing Industry Workshop on "Digital technology: Opportunities and challenges for intellectual property protection" hosted by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Centre for Digital Copyright and IP Research in China and Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS China) was successfully held on 7th July 2022. The workshop was co-organised with the University of Exeter Law School.
The seminar was chaired by Professor Hing Kai Chan, Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience and Professor of Operations Management at NUBS China. Dr Xiaochen Mu shared his view on "Copyright protection in the 3D printing industry" with the audience. The workshop also invited Mr Xiaokun Wang, Corporate Tutor of the Ningbo Intelligent Manufacturing Association, and Senior Engineer Deqing Zou, Consultant of Industry and University Collaboration of the Ningbo Intelligent Manufacturing Association. The workshop was supported by the AHRC Follow-up Funding for Impact and Engagement and the Li Dak Sum Innovation Fellowship.
The workshop started with an opening speech by Professor Chan. He expressed his welcome to the guests and shared the latest progress of the project "Licensing system for 3D printing in China – impact follow-up" funded by AHRC.
Dr Mu then presented "Copyright protection in the 3D printing industry". With the continuous development of the internet and information technology, the way of creation and dissemination of works is undergoing an upheaval. New forms of works are constantly affecting traditional copyright theory, and 3D printing technology is one of these technologies. Regarding debates related to "Whether a 3D printing digital model is a work protected by copyright law", "issues in the copying process of 3D printing", and "fair use in 3D printing", Dr Mu concluded that the copyright law protects 3D printing digital models. The transformation from the physical form to the digital form should also be regarded as copying in the sense of copyright law.
Afterwards, Senior Engineer Zou gave a detailed explanation of patent-related knowledge and shared a lively example of rights specifications with the participants.
In the round-table discussion session, the corporate representatives exchanged industrial concerns with the participants surrounding the issues of 3D printing materials, fields of application, and copyright infringement.
Finally, Professor Chan delivered a concluding remark about the event and introduced forthcoming events. Intellectual property protection is an urgent problem that we need to solve, not only in the field of 3D printing but also in the broader field of the intelligent manufacturing industry. The workshop deepened the exchanges and cooperation between the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, and the intelligent manufacturing industry. At the same time, it also provides technical and legal support for intelligent manufacturing-related enterprises.