Yesterday was my last full time day at Shapeways. After over three and a half years, today I start as the new Executive Director of the Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy at NYU Law.
I have had a fantastic experience at Shapeways, doing too many fun things with too many interesting people to count. We managed to set the standard for how 3D printing platforms should handle IP issues in a transparent way that allowed the community (and other interested parties) to understand what we were doing. We took the same approach to our broader content policy, wrestling with the challenges of operating a platform where people can make just about anything. We also partnered with Valve and the National Gallery of Denmark on innovative ways to show what can happen when rightsholders, cultural institutions, creators, and platforms work together. In addition, the new Design with Shapeways service is a huge step forward for making 3D printing accessible to as many people as possible. And all of that is, to slide into cliche, just the tip of the iceberg.
It would be impossible and foolish to try and name all of the people who have become such amazing colleagues and friends over the past few years, so I won’t even begin to try. However, I do want to give special thanks to three people for getting me to Shapeways in the first place. Natalia Krasnodebska and Duann Scott were my advocates on the inside, pushing to get me hired. Pete Weijmarshausen took a chance and decided to overlook the fact that I had no experience actually working as an in-house lawyer when he hired me. I am deeply grateful to all three of you.
While Shapeways has been an experience for which I will forever be grateful, I am very excited to start doing some new things at Engelberg. Engelberg’s faculty is truly top notch (seriously) and it is a hub for some of the best thinking about innovation law and policy in the country. We already have some fun stuff in the works, so keep your eyes on this space.