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Is 3D printer company Bambu Lab trying to patent everything about 3D printing?
- botolo 3y agoToday there were several threads on different social media platforms related to the number of patents filed by Bambu Lab, covering many aspects of 3d printing already existing and the subject of open source work
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- realitysballs 3y agoI think the legal term here is: Common knowledge
- pcdoodle 3y agoPerhaps this patenting creating a chilling effect? These patent seekers are almost like domain squatters, not adding value but wants to own an idea without actually producing a sizable market themselves.
- Ankaios 3y agoMaybe we should propose legislation for an IP black hole list. If too many of a company's patents are invalidated, the company loses the ability to create or hold patents.
- jojobas 3y agoStart another company, continue.Good luck untangling double dutch sandwiches. Nothing but monetary punishment works, unless you're willing to jail executives.
- Ankaios 3y agoYeah, I agree. I had a similar thought while writing the note. Some sort of ban is an entertaining thought, but hiding ownership is probably too easy for bans to make a meaningful difference.
- eigenvalue 3y agoPatents have to be issued in the name of people (although they can ultimately be assigned to companies). So you could institute some kind of ban for 10 years or something if too many of the person's patent applications turn out to be total BS.
- jojobas 3y agoRunning out of people is even more implausible than running out of legal entities.
- vikramkr 3y agoLooks like most of these patents are in china. I would be curious to see how these do in a us filing given how much prior set they'd have to navigate around in 3d printing
- Steltek 3y agoNo surprises really. Bambu was clearly a commercial/proprietary enterprise. A lot of their employees come from DJI, which is equally locked down. The only reason they released their slicer software is because of the GPL (hey, it works!).
- WrtCdEvrydy 3y ago> A lot of their employees come from DJI, which is equally locked down. Why does this suddenly make sense with the proprietary hotends and other magic...
- aix1 3y agoI looked through the list and only one of the patents is granted outside China (and, at a glance, appears to be novel): https://patents.google.com/patent/CN113246473A/en https://patents.google.com/patent/CN113246473A/en P.S. I have no idea what patent practices are like in China.
- bb88 3y agoMaybe it's novel? Who really knows though unless you want to spend time through the sprawling patent system. Or the body of work that encompasses the open source rep rap community.
- BoorishBears 3y agoThat's the default pressure advance K factor test that's been used for years. Literally no way they can claim that's novel.
- koreanguy 3y ago[dead]
- bb88 3y agoThis is from the prusa blog. RepRap started out originally as open source. https://blog.prusa3d.com/the-state-of-open-source-in-3d-printing-in-2023_76659/ https://blog.prusa3d.com/the-state-of-open-source-in-3d-prin... It's worth noting that in 2022, Prusa had 0 patents assigned to them. https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/which-3d-print-company-has-the-most-patents https://www.fabbaloo.com/news/which-3d-print-company-has-the...
- nummerfuenf 3y agoThose are still pending and probably won't go through. That stuff is old tech and considered state of the art. It's like you're trying to patent the wheel.