Should companies just accept their IP rights will be infringed upon?

In the first part of our IP article we covered the current IP situation and what it means for consumers, designers, and professionals. During the research process we interviewed several professionals in the sector. These included Christopher J. Higgins, a 3D printing expert & Senior Associate at Orrick, as well as General Counsel at Shapeways, Michael Weinberg. They mentioned the current IP situation with large rights holders many times, so we searched deeper into the current status quo.

Large Rights Holders

During our interview with Steve Solomon in the first interview, we found that he had received several DMCA requests. These were within these companies’ legal rights – he isn’t legally authorised to create his fan-art. Some argue he should be allowed to. He creates 3D fan-art models of Charlie Brown and Barney Rubble among others. He isn’t harming anybody, and isn’t selling his wares. This paints a picture of the big evil fish going after the little minnows of the 3D printing pond.

And companies who do this are wrong, but not for the reason you think.