Suing the crowd-source funder

Yesterday evening the IPKat picked up a story from Maxine Horn (Creative Barcodes) and Crowdsourcing.org on the patent infringement suit brought by 3D Systems against not just its three-dimensional printing rival Form Labs but also against crowd-source financier Kickstarter. The thrust of Maxine's case is that, since Kickstarter is effectively neutral to the alleged infringing acts committed by Form Labs -- it plays no part in the running of that company and derives no income from its infringing or non-infringing trade -- it should not be vulnerable to patent infringement litigation.

The IPKat is hosting a side bar poll on its home page which expires next Wednesday, asking whether ventures such as Kickstarter should be completely, partly or not at all exposed to the risks and expense of patent infringement litigation. If PatLit readers would like to participate, or just add a comment concerning their own thoughts or experiences, they should feel free to do so.