Liability exposure when 3D-printed parts fall from the sky

Additive manufacturing, also referred to as 3D printing, has become viable for manufacturing functional parts. For example, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration recently approved General Electric jet engine fuel nozzles that are produced by additive manufacturing. BecUniversity of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama with cyber technology, a number of security concerns have been raised. This chapter specifically considers attacks that deliberately sabotage the mechanical properties of functional parts produced by additive manufacturing; the feasibility of these attacks has already been discussed in the literature. Investments in security measures directly depend on cost-benefit analyses conducted by the participants involved in additive manufacturing processes. This chapter discusses the entities that can be considered to be financially liable in the event of a successful sabotage attack. The analysis employs a model that distinguishes between the levels at which the additive manufacturing process has been sabotaged. Specifically, it differentiates between the additive manufacturing service provider and the various commodity suppliers. For each possible combination of injured party and level of attack, the involved parties that may face liability exposure are identified. This is accomplished by analyzing the necessary components that establish liability. The analysis reveals that liability potential exists at all levels of the additive manufacturing process in the event of a sabotage attack. For this reason, it is imperative that the involved actors conduct or re-evaluate their cost-benefit analyses and invest in security measures.