Do “Digital Models” Infringe?

Law professor Lucas S. Osborn looks at a recent infringement case filed by the BMW Group against a company called Turbosquid in federal court in New Jersey. This case, he says, is another example of digital technology’s ongoing collision with intellectual property law. Turbosquid is said to be “the world’s largest library of real-time 3-D assets for games, virtual reality, augmented reality and real-time apps.” BMW Group alleges that TurboSquid’s virtual 3-D models of its vehicles infringe its trademarks, trade dress and design patents. In his post, Osborn analyzes various possible ways in which these allegations could be interpreted and how how IP law might address them.