Intellectual Property Protection and Security in Additive Manufacturing

Product data management along a product lifecycle is complicated due to a wide range of resources, stakeholders and technologies being involved. During the product development phase, complex information is exchanged among several engineering teams and legal entities. Product lifecycle management (PLM) systems streamline and control the product data shared with other engineering and manufacturing parties. In additive manufacturing (AM), however, as opposed to the conventional manufacturing (CM) data supply chain, the ease with which intellectual property (IP) can be compromised by theft or malicious attacks, creates a significant challenge. These attacks can lead to loss of revenue due to illegal counterfeiting, or even failure of mission-critical parts where design could be modified to a functionally impaired configuration. This paper outlines and reviews the current strategies and new approaches possible to secure IP in AM systems, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of these technologies.