Printing

Printing technology has progressed over the last 40 years from 2D printing on various media to producing 3D articles from scratch.

Intellectual property has long been a key consideration for the digital printing industry, protecting everything from printer cartridges and refills to software-based colour mapping techniques, apparatus and the emergence of additive manufacturing.

Representing a fundamental aspect of the so-called 4th Industrial Revolution and a manufacturing technology in its own right, the scope for 3D printing is enormous, with the capacity to transform countless sectors, from bespoke prosthetics or even organs in medicine to consumer electronics.

With the power to bespokely fabricate any item that’s made with materials such as polymer, metal or even foodstuffs, additive manufacturing represents a significant shift in the types of products that can be produced. In particular, complex finished items that can be created layer-by-layer. Additive manufacturing is not restricted to the industrial environment; with advances in technology driving costs down, 3D printers are widely available for home use.

HGF’s specialist attorneys possess comprehensive experience in patent drafting and prosecution in this growing, revolutionary field of technology, securing fundamental patent rights for all key aspects of printing technology. This allows our clients to remain at the leading-edge of technology, whilst countering competition and driving further innovation.

Latest updates

Spotting innovation in digital health – and can you patent it?

Intellectual Property (IP) can add significant value to your business, providing a competitive edge over the market, as well as demonstrating sound business planning to help secure investment. There are …

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What is EUDAMED and how will it affect your IP strategy?

The “European database on medical devices”, or “EUDAMED”, is the EU’s IT system created by the new Medical Devices Regulation (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostics Medical Devices Regulation (IVDR). When …

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Event - 19th April 2023

IAM Live: IP and Emerging Technology Europe 2023

HGF is a gold sponsor of IAM Live: IP and Emerging Technology Europe 2023 on the 19th April in London. The rise of AI is changing the way high-tech innovations …

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EPO Board of Appeal decision indicates approach to Core AI Inventions

Potential obstacles to obtaining patent protection in Europe for an improvement in a general method for machine learning have been highlighted by a recent decision (T0702/20) from the EPO Board …

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From Theoretical Proposals to Commercial Reality: The Rise of Innovation and Patent Filings in Quantum Computing

The possibility of quantum computing was first seriously proposed in the early 1980s and is widely regarded as having enormous potential to deliver a step change in the complexity of …

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Ruff day? Cutting edge tech to keep pets healthy

When asked for an example of innovative health technology, we would typically think of systems designed for human consumers – whether wearable devices, home monitoring systems or telehealth. However, here …

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LiDAR: A Significant Support Technology at CES

When visiting CES’ one thing that struck me was the number of companies demonstrating LiDAR technology. LiDAR has been around since the 1960s and was originally developed for aerospace use, …

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Next big step in home health monitoring goes down the toilet

We are all familiar with the recent surge in popularity of wearable health monitoring devices, empowering users to track a variety of health metrics at home. Smart watches are becoming …

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Let's talk

If you would like to discuss how HGF could help you, contact one of our printing specialists.