Pandemic, 3d Printing, and Patents; Update Corrects Initial Reports of Lawsuit Threats
[20200319_040606 UTC Updated: Editor's note: The original story was updated subsequent to this story submission; an excerpt from the original submission appears here in a <spoiler> followed by the update. --martyb]
An Anonymous Coward writes:
A medical device manufacturer has threatened to sue a group of volunteers in Italy that 3D printed a valve used for life-saving coronavirus treatments. The valve typically costs about $11,000 from the medical device manufacturer, but the volunteers were able to print replicas for about $1 (link to a TechDirt piece).
Basically, in Italy battling the wuflu epidemic, a hospital ran out of valve parts used in a treatment equipment, but the supplier weren't able to supply them. So the doctors got the local media to sound out for alternative solutions, and a 3d printing outfit stepped up. They all banged their heads together to produce the needed parts, enabling the hospital to continue treating patients.
The printed parts work to the degree they do, but it would be better to have the part's blueprint with precise specs so the printed parts can fit and function properly. So the 3d printing outfit asked the manufacturer for the blueprint. The manufacturer refused and threatened to sue the 3d printing outfit.
Here are other links covering the story, including the techdirt piece mentioned above:
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200317/04381644114/volunteers-3d-print-unobtainable-11000-valve-1-to-keep-covid-19-patients-alive-original-manufacturer-threatens-to-sue.shtml
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-italian-hospital-3d-printed-breathing-valves-covid-19-patients-2020-3
https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/16/firm-refuses-give-blueprint-coronavirus-equipment-save-lives-12403815/
Update, March 18th 5:30PM ET: A group of Italian volunteers distributed 3D-printed versions of a vital medical device - but it doesn't appear that the original manufacturer threatened a legal crackdown. As we reported earlier, Cristian Fracassi and Alessandro Romaioli used their 3D printer to create unofficial copies of a patented valve, which was in short supply at Italian hospitals. Business Insider Italia quoted Massimo Temporelli, the Italian professor who recruited the pair, saying that the device maker threatened them with an infringement claim.
But in an interview with The Verge, Romaioli denied they'd received threats. He said the company had simply refused to release design files, forcing them to reverse-engineer the valve. "I talked to an operator who told me he couldn't give me the files, but after that we didn't receive anything from the original company - so I can assure you we didn't get any threat," he said. "They said they couldn't give us the file because it's company property, but that's all." While earlier reporting said the original valve cost over $10,000, Fracassi also told Fast Company that this number was inaccurate.
Temporelli gave The Verge a more ambiguous account of the call, which he says he wasn't directly involved in. "The group we asked for the files refused and said it was illegal" to copy the valves, he said. He stopped short of calling the statement a threat. "Let's say the risk to be sued exists since they bypassed a patent, but that's it."
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