Security_4.0_by_Default-Growth_4.0_by_Design 2023-10 | Page 16

People had already begun thinking about 3D printing in the 1970s , but what keeps being overlooked to this date is how to protect 3D printing data from piracy and how to track and bill print jobs correctly and securely for all stakeholders involved .

The 3D printing process starts with the development of a digital object , which contains or represents a crucial piece of intellectual property . This asset needs to be protected , because only protected IP can be marketed in any sensible way . This should not be a problem if the holder of that IP is actually the same person or business doing the processing and printing as well . But the 3D printing market is moving in another direction : In many cases , the digital object will only be one component of a whole array of pieces that an integrator would assemble into a finished product , and the printing happens outside of the direct control of the IP ’ s owner .

With CodeMeter ’ s concept , prepress and printing stages are handled separately , each via a dedicated license . Both licenses include the necessary cryptographic keys ; in the case of the printing license , there is also a secure unit counter to keep track of how many copies of an object have actually been printed .

Producer / Designer Prepress Printer

16 WIBU-SYSTEMS AG