Stratasys files new IP lawsuit

[Joe Kerman]

http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20131125-907489.html?dsk=y

http://www.afinia.com/

The concerning part is that this looks like every other low-end 3d printer on the market, including the reprap.  Its hard to say without knowing what patents they are claiming, but it holds true to the 25 year old saying that you cant do anything involving 3d printing, and make money, without stratasys suing the crap out of you*

FYI most of their lawsuits are settled in exchange for a vast majority of shares in the company it sues.

*pending updated 2013 to change "suing" to "suing/buying"

[Joe Kerman]

copy of the complaint. hooooo boy http://www.scribd.com/doc/187032198/Stratasys-v-Microboards-Technology

[Chris Meyer]

All of the alleged violations include things that the Makerbot does, so I have to wonder about selective enforcement/etc of patents and how that works?  Seems as though they picked the front runner to buy, and are now going to try to clean house and remove competitors through enforcement of their IP library.

Chris

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[Joe Kerman]

Makerbot made a recent push for the educational market (they bluntly said "a makerbot in every school") , and it looks like alfinia is primarily targeting that market too.   It seems like a targeted strike, but the claims they make in those patents are so silly.

I really dont understand how you can patent and invent something in 1979, and keep making small tweaks to it to keep it patented forever :(

I appreciated the irony in this though "Our Afinia H-Series 3D Printer won the 2012 Make Magazine 3D Printer Buyer’s Guide competition. Out of 15 3D printers that were reviewed, we won Best Overall Experience, Easiest Setup, and tied in the Easiest To Use category."

[Arthur E. Flater]

The reason they are doing this is simple. Stratasys wants to protect patents and their manufacturing. Perhaps the courts will see it their way, perhaps not. Either way the suit will distract their competitors and bleed them of time and cash. So Stratasys wins even if they do not win.

 

Stratasys is using the court system as a business tool.

 

This crap happens all the time.

[Jesse Robinson]

I figured this would happen when they bought MakerBot. They have the high end market, they bought a piece of the medium/low end, now they will take out the competition to be the only fdm at any level.

[Have Blue]

Afinia is not taking this lying down:  http://www.afinia.com/wp-content/uploads/Afinia-Response-Stratasys-Complaint.pdf

It's also interesting to note that the new 3DS CubePro touts a "controlled environment print chamber" - I wonder if they paid a licensing fee to Stratasys?