3D printing: destiny, doom or dream?

The emerging technology of three-dimensional (3D) printing has been heralded by many as the beginning of a third industrial revolution. By providing solutions to pressing problems ranging from organ shortages to reducing our environmental footprint through less waste, less transport costs, to more innovation, creativity and personalization, some argue that 3D printing is a heavenly destiny indeed. At the same time, however, there are also critical voices to be heard. 3D printing raises serious social, ethical, regulatory, legal and economic questions. Charting what these issues are, proposing ways of addressing them, and evaluating the potential and the reality of 3D printing is what it is all about.

Focus of the conference

This international conference is organised by eLaw, the Centre for Law in the Information Society, which is part of Leiden University’s Law School in the Netherlands. The aim of the conference is to provide an interdisciplinary forum for experts in law, political science and policy studies, economics, business science, philosophy and science and technology studies to present papers concerning a wide range of issues surrounding 3D printing technology.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The socio-economic impact of 3D printing
• Regulation and policy change in light of the development of 3D printing
• Intellectual property, patents and p2p file-sharing
• Other areas of law (e.g. tax law, product liability)
• Innovation and creativity
• Specific applications and products, and the special issues/solutions they may generate (e.g. guns, food, organs, prosthetics, etc.)
• 3D printing technology (e.g. development and history of , new frontiers, new areas of application etc.)
• Valuing (the future of) 3D printing (hype, hope or horror?)

For a detailed description of these topics, see the conference website: www.elawconferences.org

Conference organisers
Prof.dr. Simone van der Hof
Dr. Bibi van den Berg
Carl Mair, LLM
Annemiek Varkevisser
Tess Priester

More information? See the conference website: