Indistinguishable from Magic: A Wizard's Guide to Copyright and 3D Printing

16 Pages Posted: 4 Dec 2013 Last revised: 2 Jul 2015

Date Written: November 21, 2013

Abstract

3D printing is a technology of such surprise and wonder that it verges on the magical. But what if 3D printers actually were magic? How would copyright law treat the wizards who used them? This Comment uses the magical analogy to make familiar doctrines strange, and a strange technology familiar.

This Comment was prepared as an invited comment on Kyle Dolinsky's "CAD’s Cradle: Untangling Copyrightability, Derivative Works, and Fair Use in 3D Printing" for the 2013 Washington and Lee Student Notes Colloquium.

Keywords: copyright, 3D printers, 3D printing, magic

JEL Classification: K00

Suggested Citation

Grimmelmann, James and Grimmelmann, James, Indistinguishable from Magic: A Wizard's Guide to Copyright and 3D Printing (November 21, 2013). Washington and Lee Law Review, Forthcoming, U of Maryland Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2014-5, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2358233

James Grimmelmann (Contact Author)

Cornell Tech ( email )

2 West Loop Road
New York, NY 10044
United States

Cornell Law School ( email )

Myron Taylor Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-4901
United States

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