The Treatment of Orphan Works under Copyright Law in Seven Jurisdictions: A Comparative Review of the Underlying Principles (London: Intellectual Property Office; July 2013)

Study I – which is the first of a two-part Study, considers the implications for intellectual property law, particularly copyright law, as a result of online sharing platforms dedicated to 3D printing. As such, this Study applies a legal and empirical analysis, to provide a clearer understanding of ‘how’ the sharing happens to provide an understanding of the ‘parameters’ for sharing, e.g. terms and conditions, rules, regulations that apply, together with restrictions and bounds that apply to user behaviour and file-sharing.