Can you copyright a manufacturing assembly? Can you patent a sculpture? Who"owns" public spaces? Do you have the right to manufacture replacement jigs for a production process you did not create? What rights exist in public buildings?
If you don't know the answers to these questions, then a session at the Faro 3D Documentation Conference, Feb 21-22, 2012 in Orlando Fl., might be just what you need. Tom Kurke, Chief Operating Officer for Geomagic, and Michael Weinberg, Staff Attorney for Public Knowledge, will present an overview of relevant intellectual property concepts and then walk you through the nuances of IP law as it applies to objects and scenes to be captured.
It should be pretty interesting actually
While many law subjects can be, well, pretty dry, the betting is that this one won't be: With many practical examples that can affect us now (What about a street scene that you just captured on your Faro FOCUS 3D? Do you have any rights to it under current US law? Or does someone else own it?) and also a look at what the wider availability of scanning might deliver, this will be a vibrant and energetic session. (Notwithstanding the fact that we call Tom Kurke Sir Sonic Esq.' in recognition of the speed of his activity throughout the office.)
"All stakeholders (hardware and software manufacturers, owner/operators of constructed assets, service providers, etc.) need to understand the current lay of the land on intellectual property law and how changes might impact them in the future." Says Tom Kurke. That's his official-speak. What it means is: by taking that scan of a building, a street or a product, did you just, no matter how inadvertently, break IP laws? It's important now and will be even more so as scanning and 3D data capture becomes more available and accessible.
You can register for the Faro 3D event now at: http://3d-documentation-conference.com/