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from
Wired:
The past year was a breakout for desktop 3-D printing. MakerBot
released two new models, Formlabs debuted the first prosumer 3-D printer
to use high-accuracy stereolithography, and a slew of innovative, printed
projects lifted awareness and desirability of additive manufacturing
for the general public.
But the year ended with a legal hiccup. Formlabs will be dealing with a
patent infringement lawsuit brought against them by 3D Systems, one of the
biggest players in the industry. The hobbyist segment of the industry has
been built on the back of expired patents, but as the Electronic Frontier
Foundation has pointed out, many patents that will be required to advance
the state of the art will not expire for years or even a decade.
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