Through various legal and policy developments derived from the Green Deal, the EU aims to achieve greater sustainability. Special attention has been focused on the change from a linear production model to a circular one that promotes the reuse, repair, and recycling of products when they reach the end of their life cycle. A key factor for a product to be sustainable is that its lifespan is as long as possible, thus delaying its disposal and the need to purchase a new one. To this end, the repair of objects is key, and it is defended by the so-called “Right to Repair” movement.
3DP possess great potential for repair activities, offering digital storage, the production and diffusion of spare parts, as well as local and on-demand production. Although there is an important focus on the “right to repair” from a policy and consumer perspective, currently, there is not a “right to repair” as such in the EU and repair activities can lead to IP infringement. This issue has been addressed previously by literature and case law but takes on new relevance with the use of 3DP and the recent regulatory updates. New questions arise about the possibility of IP infringement and, thus possible barriers to the use of 3DP for repair.
Main research question:
Does the current IP legal system need to be adapted or reinterpreted to accommodate repair activities, in the context of of the use of 3D printing technology and the circular economy?
Methodology:
This thesis follows a “socio-legal” methodology, considering legal, technological, political and societal aspects to obtain a contextual framework of the 3DP sector and its potential to contribute to the circular economy, in particular repair activities. It combines literature analysis as well as doctrinal and empirical research methods. Since IPRs are territorial and are at the core of the analysis, the methodology requires a regional approach and concentrates on EU law.
Structure:
Part I is composed of Chapters II and III and introduces the framework of this thesis dealing with 3DP technology and repair activities.
Part II is composed of Chapters IV, V, VI and VII. They concentrate on the IPRs considered in this thesis, i.e., patents, copyrights, designs and trade marks. The chapters focus on the use of 3DP at two key moments that may involve acts of infringement: the use of protected elements in a CAD file and the production of protected objects through 3DP. As there is no harmonised limitation or exception to cover these actions under the umbrella of “repair”, it is necessary to assess the different possible remedies under each IPR and to consider whether they are adequate or whether new solutions should be explored to promote the use of 3DP for repair purposes.
Chapter VIII presents the conclusions of the research in a comparative manner considering the different IPRs analysed and providing recommendations.
