3D printer part clones from china - legality

Question

What's the legal status of Chinese 3D printer part clones such as Hiwin linear rail clones or E3D hotends?

While it's clear that Chinese clones are certainly sub-par in quality, no question, what I wonder is whether they violate any laws (they don't use brand names or claim to be the genuine product).

In particular, I’m interested whether it is in any way illegal to order such parts in the U.S.

Given that there's hardly any 3D printer that doesn't contain at least one Chinese part, I really think this is on topic.

I also don't seek legal advice but any information other 3D printer users on here have.

Answer 1

This question is really a legal question, and could apply to any cloned parts/devices rather than being 3D printer specific, and a generic counterfeit consumer goods based question should be asked on SE.Law. However, as you rightly state, a lot of 3D printers from China may contain (whether knowingly sourced or not by the manufacturer¹) counterfeit parts, be that ICs, hotend designs (i.e. E3D clones), controllers (i.e. Arduino Mega boards or stand-alone non-RAMPS Arduino shield boards),or what have you. As such this is an issue that may be faced by any unwittingly innocent consumer.

Prefacing any statement with I am not a lawyer (IANAL), these sections from Wikipedia entry on Counterfeit consumer goods might help answer your question:

• Growing problem as will this
• Enforcement- US.

In short, if they have a mind to, Customs could seize it at the border; if your house was raided (for whatever reason) law enforcement could seize your printer (although this seems unlikely, unless they were explicitly raiding your house for knock-offs); and (more worryingly) there is a proposal to fine those people who purchase knock-offs.

Of course this is not the only legal issue that may be encountered when buying Chinese devices/parts from less-than-reputable suppliers o eBay or AliExpress, for example, what if:

• it breaks and what legal recourse do you have as a consumer;
• it produces a poor quality or dangerous print;
• it explodes, what legal recourse do you have;
• and so on, etc.

These questions lead into rather murky grey and legally complex areas, and really would need to be dealt with by a legal professional (solicitor/lawyer).

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Other Stack Exchange posts worth reading

These deal more with quality not legality but see

• Can cheap hotend parts sourced from China actually produce good prints?, and;
• Vaguely related - What are the pros and cons of collecting parts yourself, versus getting a DIY kit and then modifying it?
• Also, which respect to the electronics:
  • Some Arduino components seem ridiculously cheap and;
  • Compatibility between Arduino and Arduino clones.
  • This answer to Arduino Clone - A request for the USB device descriptor failed interestingly points out that if the device is licensed appropriately (CC, open-source, etc.) then they may not be any legal issues at all related to cloning (but not counterfeiting - See What's the difference between a clone and a counterfeit Arduino?.

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¹ A bone fide low end oscilloscope manufacturer got stung by a batch of fake regulator ICs just last year, see Re: JYE Tech DSO150 oscilloscope troubles