On August 8, Stratasys, a leading 3D printing OEM, filed two patent infringement lawsuits against Bambu Lab, a rapidly growing Chinese consumer-grade 3D printer manufacturer, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas’ Marshall Division.
Stratasys is suing Bambu Lab for alleged infringement of several 3D printing patents.
Patent infringement lawsuit against Bambu Lab
Bambu Lab has been an outlier in the hobbyist 3D printing market, where it rose to prominence with their high-speed desktop 3D printers. These printers transformed the hobbyist market, prompting nearly every other company to release their own high-speed 3D printer.
This year, however, began on a bad note when they were forced to recall all of their A1 3D printers in February due to customer complaints about unstable temperature readings and heating issues.
If this was not bad enough, Stratasys has now filed two patent infringement lawsuits in the United States. According to the lawsuit, Stratasys seeks a jury trial to determine whether Bambu Lab infringed on the asserted patents. Stratasys seeks damages, attorney fees, and ‘other relief that the Court deems just and proper’ from Bambu Labs.
You can learn more more about these here (cv-644) and here (cv-645).
Patents Infringed
The patents at the centre of this lawsuit are United States Patent Nos. 9,421,713, 9,592,660, 7,555,357, 9,168,698, and 10,556,381.
Stratasys claims that the Bambu Lab X1C, X1E, P1S, P1P, A1, and A1 Mini printers infringe on US Patent No. 9,421,713, which is titled ‘Additive Manufacturing Method For Printing Three-Dimensional Parts With Purge Towers’.
The United States Patent No. 9,592,660 covers the integration of a ‘Heated Build Platform and System For Three-Dimensional Printing Methods,’ which allows parts to be printed using high-temperature thermoplastics. Stratasys claims that the aforementioned printers also violate this IP.
Stratasys’ third claim relates to United States Patent No. 7,555,357, titled ‘Method For Building Three-Dimensional Objects With Extrusion-Based Layer Deposition System.’ Again, Stratasys claims that the same six printers violate this patent.
Finally, US Patent Nos. 9,168,698 and 10,556,381 relate to ‘Three-Dimensional Printer With Force Direction,’ which covers methods for detecting contact force against a 3D printer’s extruder or other tool head. The A1 and A1 Mini printers are the subject of this claim.
Bambu Lab has taken this into consideration and has responded via social media with an official statement. It issued a statement on its official X (formerly Twitter) page that read:
“We have taken note of the relevant information. As of now, we have not received any formal documents from the court, but we are closely monitoring the situation. We will actively respond to this case in accordance with the appropriate legal procedures to protect our legitimate rights and interests. Bambu Lab has always advocated for and upheld the principles of respecting and protecting intellectual property. Through continuous research and technological innovation, we strive to provide our users with the best possible 3D printing experience. We also advocate our industry peers to drive the development of the sector through genuine technological innovation.”
While Bambu Lab fights this one in court, we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out; people are already taking sides. We are seeing significant support for Bambu Lab from its community, which views these lawsuits as an attack on the hobbyist community.
Whose Side Are You On?
For context, Stratasys is the inventor of the most widely used Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) technology, which was covered by a patent that expired in the mid-2000s, just as the RepRap movement was taking off. The same movement that made 3D printing accessible to the general public. As a result, many in the open-source community regard Stratasys as the “evil” corporation that has kept 3D printing out of reach for many years.
As a result, anger towards Stratasys has deep roots and receives little support. Furthermore, Stratasys’ share price has fallen significantly from $15.05 in August last year to $7.16 today. This drop is the result of a significant loss of market share, a concentration on the polymer market, and some poor decisions.
Some believe the company intended to capitalise on UltiMaker (the entity formed by the merger of Ultimaker and Makerbot) to target the rapidly growing consumer space, but the launch of Bambu Lab a couple of years ago derailed those plans as well. Now they want to use their power to intimidate a new and emerging player.
It’s a hot topic and too early to say which way the pendulum will swing, but it’ll be interesting to see how things progress.
About Manufactur3D Magazine: Manufactur3D is an online magazine on 3D Printing. Visit our Global News page for more updates on Global 3D Printing News. To stay up-to-date about the latest happenings in the 3D printing world, like us on Facebook or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Follow us on Google News.
