Rethinking Who 'Keeps' Heritage: 3D Technology, Repatriation and Copyright

Abstract

Using 3D scanning and printing technology for cultural heritage creates a new group of opportunities for preservation and access, while also causing a shift in how we view the ownership of this heritage. This article will examine this issue from four angles: how 3D technology plays a role for heritage in danger; how it allows having multiple copies at once in such a way that affects repatriation dynamics; how it creates further copyright questions; and finally how it causes a new layer of ownership over the scans. This article will argue that 3D technology does not solve repatriation issues but might create new ownership in the 3D scans through copyright law.