The Quest for Product Safety in the Context of 3D Printing: A Law and Economics Analysis De zoektocht naar productveiligheid in de context van 3D-printen: Een rechtseconomische analyse Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam op gezag van de rector magnificus Prof. dr. F.A. van der Duyn Schouten en volgens besluit van het College voor Promoties De openbare verdediging zal plaatsvinden op vrijdag 12 februari 2021 om 10:30 uur door Shu Li geboren te Changshu, China Promotiecommissie Promotoren: Prof. dr. K. Heine Prof. dr. M.G. Faure LL.M. Overige leden: Prof. dr. T. Eger Prof. dr. N.J. Philipsen Dr. K.K.E.C.T. Swinnen This thesis was written as part of the European Doctorate in Law and Economics programme An international collaboration between the Universities of Bologna, Hamburg and Rotterdam. As part of this programme, the thesis has been submitted to the Universities Hamburg and Rotterdam to obtain a doctoral degree. To my parents Acknowledgement On September 13, 2018, I presented one of my chapters in the EDLE seminar and Professor Louis Visscher was my discussant. One issue that he pointed out in the written feedback was “If you write a paper, you will read a lot of literature. Reading those papers was necessary for you to understand the problem, to learn about the interesting problems in this area, to find the exact issue you want to write about, and to gradually reach your conclusions. However, the fact that you needed all those in-between steps in reaching your conclusions, does not mean that all those steps also have to be in your final paper.” This is exactly the learning process that every PhD student may struggle with. It is not easy. Luckily, I got enormous personal support and professional guidance during the period of my PhD research. Today, I had the privilege to show my gratitude. Firstly, I would like to thank Professor Klaus Heine for giving me the opportunity to pursue the research. Thank you for your inspirational supervision throughout my whole PhD experience. You were always the first person who was readily to polish the raw idea from me. Thanks to your invaluable guidance, I was encouraged to jump out of the comfort zone and my research horizon was greatly expanded. Thang you! I also would like to express my gratitude to Professor Michael Faure, who led me into the Cathedral of the analysis of law and economics. Your comments were always to the point, which at first glance might be concise or small but proved to be vital at a later stage. More importantly, you are the supervisor who knows exactly when to hold the rein to avoid the undefendable risk. Thank you! I am grateful to Professor Thomas Eger, Professor Niels Philipsen and Dr Swinnen for their time to carefully read my dissertation. The comments were insightful for further improving the manuscript. I want to extend my acknowledgement to the members of my plenary committee for attending the ceremony and challenging me in various perspectives. During the journey of research, many people are important to me. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the team of RILE. I want to thank Marianne, who steers the whole department and always would like to share time with me, reminding me of the timeline and pushing me to be professional. I also thank Sanne, Ipek, Lukas (Hamburg) and Lisa (Bologna) for their great support on administrative issues. When I was drafting chapters, many professors shared their indispensable insights with me and offered me valuable comments. I am very thankful to Professor Luigi Franzoni, Professor Louis Visscher, Professor Kees van Noortwijk, Professor Evert Stamhuis, Professor Marano Pierpaolo, Professor Francesco Parisi, Professor Sharon Oded, Professor Yun-Chien Chang, Dr Ann-Sophie Vandenberghe, Dr Elena Kantorowicz-Reznichenko, Dr Franziska Weber and Dr Yifat Nahias. I also would like to thank Professor Yang Li and Professor Ji Weidong for supporting me to present my research in China. I would like to thank Professor Yuwen Li. She had helped me to settle down and adapt to the life in the Netherlands even before I prepared to start the academic challenge. My EDLE colleagues and ESL friends are wonderful. Since the first day I came to Rotterdam I profited more from their uncountable support than I could offer them: Alberto, Cheng, Chih-Ching, Edoardo, Elena, Renny, Maria, Kuan-Jung, Arrow, Ayman, Eman, Yong-Fu, Joe, Jan, Francesca, Evangelia, Chiara, Paul, Liam, Martin, Lucas, Nancy, Anran and Yayun. Special thanks to Kan. I really miss the good old days when we were discussing law and economic issues in Bologna, Hamburg and Rotterdam. My deepest gratitude to my parents, Li Xueming and Wang Min. Your unconditional trust and endless patience raised me up. I thank my girlfriend Zhang Yi for the great companion. Every single step of the journey witnessed your emotional support and sacrifice. Table of Contents Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................i List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables and Figures ....................................................................................................................... ix INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................... 1 Background and Motivation ................................................................................................................. 3 Research Questions .............................................................................................................................. 4 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 5 The Structure of the Dissertation .......................................................................................................... 9 PART I ................................................................................................................................................. 13 THE DISRUPTION OF 3D PRINTING: A TECHNOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE ........................ 13 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 1. 3D Printing as a Disruptive Technology ................................................................................ 17 1.1. 3D printing: A conceptual and evolutionary perspective .............................................................. 17 1.2. The digital designing process of 3D printing ................................................................................ 19 1.2.1. Obtaining a visible digital design .......................................................................................... 19 1.2.2. Obtaining a printable CAD file ............................................................................................. 20 1.3. The physical fabrication process .................................................................................................. 21 1.3.1. The pre-printing phase .......................................................................................................... 22 1.3.2. The fabricating (printing) phase ............................................................................................ 22 1.3.3. The post-printing phase ........................................................................................................ 26 1.4. Chapter conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 2. The Development of 3D Printing: Transiting from Labs to Commercialisation ...................... 29 2.1. Commercialisation through the lens of IP .................................................................................... 29 2.1.1. Patent as a safeguard in the early stage of commercialisation ................................................ 29 2.1.2. The current state of patents and 3D printing .......................................................................... 31 2.1.3. Commercialisation via the capital market .............................................................................. 32 2.2. National strategies to support the development of 3D printing ..................................................... 33 2.2.1. EU: FP7 and Horizon 2020 ................................................................................................... 34 2.2.2. The UK: National Strategy 2018-2025 .................................................................................. 37 i 2.2.3. China: Made in China 2025 .................................................................................................. 39 2.2.4. US: America Make ............................................................................................................... 41 2.2.5. Asia-Pacific region ............................................................................................................... 42 2.2.6. Summary .............................................................................................................................. 43 2.3. Practical applications in different sectors: case studies ................................................................