Ernest Miller pursues research and writing on cyberlaw, intellectual property, and First Amendment issues. Mr. Miller attended the U.S. Naval Academy before attending Yale Law School, where he was president and co-founder of the Law and Technology Society, and founded the technology law and policy news site LawMeme. He is a fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School.
Ernest Miller's blog postings can also be found @Listen to the weekly audio edition on IT Conversations:
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Feel free to contact me about articles, websites and etc. you think I may find of interest. I'm also available for consulting work and speaking engagements. Email: ernest.miller 8T gmail.com
Balkinization
What is Hatch's Hit List? Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has introduced the Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act (IICA, née INDUCE Act) in the Senate. The bill would make it illegal to "intentionally induce" copyright infringement, but is worded so broadly that it would have all sorts of unintended consequences, one of which is to severely limit, cripple or kill innovation in many different fields. Hatch's Hit List is a daily exploration of some of the technologies and fields that the bill would likely affect. See also, Introducing Hatch's Hit List and the Hatch's Hit List Archives. Send list suggestions to ernest.miller 8T aya.yale.edu.
Today on Hatch's Hit List: 3D Scanners
They're getting smaller and they're getting cheaper. That means that they'll be heading into the consumer range soon, if they aren't already there. 3D Scanners, not quite an everyday item yet, which makes them particularly vulnerable to the INDUCE Act.
Of course, that is the problem with new technology, people don't see how, in a few years, they might come to be seen as irreplaceable: how did we ever live without it? Not every technology ends up being useful, of course, but plenty of them went through a stage where their ultimate promise wasn't quite clear.
For example, what might one use a 3D scanner for? According to one manufacturer (Desktop 3D Scanner):
Ideal for scanning sculpted characters and other objects for computer animation, product prototypes, and for research applications.Sounds pretty good to me. Lots of people are doing animation at home, as well as creating models for 3D game mods. Some of them would likely love to use a consumer 3D scanner to make creating such models easily (think about what you could add to "The Sims"!). And, of course, if you have a 3D Printer as well, watch out - the potential uses are unlimited (Hatch's Hit List #2 - 3D Printers)!
Who knows what other great uses people may come up with for 3D scanners? Sizing for mail order clothes? It doesn't really matter, however, because, if the INDUCE Act passes, many of the initial uses are clearly going to involve copyright infringement. Anyone selling consumer-priced 3D scanners will obviously know that they will be used for copyright infringement, which means they must be intended for copyright infringement, at least as far as the reasonable person may be concerned. Thus, the INDUCE Act-related end of another promising new consumer technology.
Want to know more about the INDUCE Act?
Please see LawMeme's well-organized index to everything I've written on the topic, including Hatch's Hit List: The LawMeme Reader's Guide to Ernie Miller's Guide to the INDUCE Act.
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