This chapter explores the potential use of 3D printing technology for housing construction. 3D printing or ‘additive manufacturing’ in the construction industry falls within a broader umbrella of ‘rapid prototyping’ technology that has been deployed in the automotive, aerospace and construction industry since the late-1990s. While additive manufacturing technologies have been increasingly utilised across a range of industry, the use of 3D printing in construction is still in its infancy. Despite this early stage in development, the technological opportunities and impending disruption to the status quo are clear. D’Aveni (2018) suggests that the coming adoption of 3D printing in the high-impact industries’ of architecture and construction will harness the advantages of additive manufacturing to improve performance on construction sites to construction buildings with greater speed, complexity and at lower costs (D’Aveni, 2018). Khoshnevis (2012) suggests that the impact of 3D printing ‘as a disruptive technology’ within the construction industry will be observed beyond the construction site, including ‘economic impacts, employment impacts, social impacts, regulatory, environmental, and architectural impacts.’ Given this socio-political dimension to the technology, the authors argue that the exploration of 3D printing in construction should be undertaken from a legal perspective to articulate this socio-political context through intellectual property activities (such as patent disputes) and the interaction of the technology with existing and emerging building regulatory frameworks. Section I examines the types of 3D printing technologies deployed in the construction industry. Section II considers the interplay of intellectual property issues such as copyright, design law, patent law, trademark law and trade secrets around 3D printing in construction. Section III presents a brief survey of 3D printed construction projects globally through an examination of intellectual property activity. As part of this examination, we conducted data analysis of patent families related to 3D printing and, following the example of Shosana Zuboff (2019), evaluated the legal and ethical dimensions of individual, exemplar patents drawn from the field. Section IV proceeds with an analysis of the regulatory landscape around potential 3D printed housing projects. It focuses on the impact of the technology on legal frameworks touching the construction process in Australia. This includes the impact of 3D printing on work health and safety laws applicable during the construction process, the resolution of design errors and non-compliance with the National Construction Code, defect rectification, statutory and contractual warranties, and the advantages offered by the transparency and accuracy provided by technology that will aid in compliance with chain of responsibility legislation and the security of payment framework. A conclusion is presented at the end of this chapter pointing to further research areas in both intellectual property and building regulatory issues presented by the deployment of 3D printing in housing construction
