National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO/IEC 23955:2025.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee ICT/1, Information systems co-ordination.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 30 November 2026.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).

ISO and IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO and IEC had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents and https://patents.iec.ch. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html. In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.

This document was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and www.iec.ch/national-committees.

Introduction

Additive manufacturing (AM) has been used for rapid prototyping for many years and is increasingly being applied to volume production, mass customization and spare parts production, among other use cases. In recent years, the additive manufacturing service platform (AMSP) has developed rapidly. Especially with the integration of the internet, AMSP makes AM technology accessible to ordinary customers and helps to realize the development model from traditional mass production to personalized customization.

Meanwhile, it is noted that AM technology has brought many challenges to intellectual property protection. As the foundation of AM technology, 3D models are subject to both deliberate and accidental threats, including being stolen illegally during the transmission process on the internet or being distributed and printed without permission after they are sent to AM centres, which can cause a financial loss to the model provider and is also harmful to the healthy development of AMSPs. Currently, AMSPs lack the protection mechanism for product data information, especially for 3D models.

The purpose of this document is to provide requirements to effectively protect the intellectual property of 3D models, stimulate the innovative enthusiasm of designers and accelerate the adoption of AM technologies in the manufacturing ecosystem at large, thus better meeting the growing needs for personalized customization.

1 Scope

This document specifies the technical requirements for product data protection of an additive manufacturing service platform (AMSP). The following elements are within the scope of this document.

Classification of product data information of an AMSP and the protection levels.
Product data protection at four data-processing stages, i.e. data collection, data display, data transfer and data deletion.
Responsibilities and obligations of different entities.

This document is applicable when individuals or organizations (e.g. commercial enterprises, government agencies and non-profit organizations) build an AMSP or improve existing ones to provide additive manufacturing (AM) and other services specific to the submission, design, and creation of AM parts.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Classification of product data information on additive manufacturing service platform

4.1 General

4.2 Categories of product data information on an AMSP

5 Protection levels

5.1 General

5.2 Level Ι

5.3 Level II

5.4 Level III

6 Protection for different categories of product data information

7 Technical requirements for product data information protection on an AMSP

7.1 General

7.2 Data collection stage

7.3 Data display stage

7.4 Data transfer stage

7.5 Data deletion stage

8 Responsibilities and obligations assumed by different entities

8.1 General

8.2 Responsibilities and obligations of 3D model providers

8.3 Responsibilities and obligations of 3D model receivers

8.4 Responsibilities and obligations of AMSPs

Bibliography