{"id":114543,"key":"Patent_Parasites:_Non-Inventors_Patenting_Existing_Open-Source_Inventions_in_the_3-D_Printing_Technology_Space","title":"Patent Parasites: Non-Inventors Patenting Existing Open-Source Inventions in the 3-D Printing Technology Space","latest":{"id":1256950,"timestamp":"2026-07-24T12:46:43Z"},"content_model":"wikitext","license":{"url":"https://www.appropedia.org/Appropedia:Copyrights","title":"CC-BY-SA-4.0"},"source":"{{FAST notice}}\n\n[[File:Parasite.jpg|thumb]]\n\n{{Publication data\n| type = Paper\n| year = 2023\n| cite-as = Kulkarni A, Pearce JM. Patent Parasites: Non-Inventors Patenting Existing Open-Source Inventions in the 3-D Printing Technology Space. ''Inventions''. 2023; 8(6):141. https://doi.org/10.3390/inventions8060141 [https://www.academia.edu/108918505/Patent_Parasites_Non_Inventors_Patenting_Existing_Open_Source_Inventions_in_the_3_D_Printing_Technology_Space Academia OA] [https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202307.2105/v1 preprint]\n| url = https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5134/8/6/141\n}}\n\nOpen-source 3-D printing has played a pivotal role in revolutionizing the additive manufacturing (AM) landscape by making distributed manufacturing economic, democratizing access, and fostering far more rapid innovation than antiquated proprietary systems. Unfortunately, some 3-D printing manufacturing companies began deviating from open-source principles and violating licenses for the detriment of the community. To determine if a pattern has emerged of companies patenting clearly open-source innovations, this study presents three case studies from the three primary regions of open-source 3-D printing development (EU, U.S., and China) as well as three aspects of 3-D printing technology (AM materials, an open-source 3-D printer, and core open-source 3-D printing concepts used in most 3-D printers). The results of this review have shown that non-inventing entities, called patent parasites, are patenting open-source inventions already well-established in the open-source community and, in the most egregious cases, commercialized by one (or several) firm(s) at the time of the patent filing. Patent parasites are able to patent open-source innovations by using a different language, vague patent titles, and broad claims that encompass enormous swaths of widely diffused open-source innovation space. This practice poses a severe threat to innovation, and several approaches to irradicate the threat are discussed.\n\n{{Pearce publications notice}}\n\n=== Keywords ===\n\n 3-D printing, additive manufacturing, innovation, intellectual monopoly, intellectual property, open innovation, open hardware, open-source, paten, RepRap, Intellectual property; Prior art; Open hardware; Automation; Certification; data management; knowledge; data management practices; open source software; free software; knowledge mobilization, [[Open Source]], [[Open Source Hardware]], Innovation, free and open source hardware; FOSH; free and open source software; open design; open hardware; open science; open scientific hardware; OScH; communication studies, communication, information technology, information science, libraries, science, knowledge, technology, sociology\n\n== See also ==\n\n* [[Towards open source patents: Semi-automated open hardware certification from MediaWiki websites]]\n* [[Open Source Database and Website to Provide Free and Open Access to Inactive U.S. Patents in the Public Domain]]\n* [[A Case for Weakening Patent Rights]]\n* [[Professors Want to Share: Preliminary Survey Results on Establishing Open Source Endowed Professorships]]\n* [[Canadian professors' views on establishing open source endowed professorships]]\n* [[Sponsored Libre Research Agreements to Create Free and Open Source Software and Hardware]]\n* [[Towards national policy for open source hardware research: The case of Finland]]\n* [[Free and Open-Source Automated Open Access Preprint Harvesting]]\n* [[Appropedia:OSHWA Certification tool design]]\n* [[Quantifying the Human Mortality Costs of Patent-based Intellectual Property: How Many Premature Deaths are due to Patents?]]\n* [[Derisking the Finance of Open Source Hardware Development]]\n* [[Response to a Critique: Errors with Acri’s Opinion Piece Defending IP, While Premature Deaths Pile Up from Patents]]\n\n{{Page data\n| title-tag = Patent Parasites: Non-Inventors Patenting Existing 3-D Printing Tech\n| organizations = FAST\n| sdg = SDG09 Industry innovation and infrastructure, SDG10 Reduced inequalities\n| keywords = 3-D printing, additive manufacturing, innovation, intellectual monopoly, intellectual property, open innovation, open hardware, open-source, paten, RepRap, Intellectual property, Prior art, Open hardware, Automation, Certification, data management, knowledge, data management practices, open source software, free software, knowledge mobilization, [[Open Source]],open access, data management, knowledge, data management practices, free software, knowledge mobilization, Innovation, free and open source software, open science\n| type = Paper\n| description = Patent issues explained with Appropedia showing how unfair claims block open designs and slow shared progress.\n}}\n\n[[Category:3D printing]]\n[[Category:Business]]\n[[Category:open source]]\n[[Category:Open access]]\n[[Category:FAST Completed]]\n[[Category:Open hardware]]\n[[Category:Knowledge]]\n[[Category:Open source software]]\n[[Category:Innovation]]"}