A Texas jury found that Bambu Lab's first generation X1, P1 and A1 printers infringe Stratasys patents on prime towers and bed leveling, and awarded Stratasys $27.6 million. No injunction applies, and the verdict covers only US patents, while a European court earlier rejected Stratasys' injunction request. Bambu Lab says it will seek post-trial review and appeal.
Key facts
Jury awarded Stratasys $27.6 million against Bambu Lab in Texas
Patents cover prime towers (US 9421713) and force-sensor bed leveling (US 9168698)
No injunctions on the X1, P1 or A1 series named in the suit
The Hague UPC division dismissed Stratasys' injunction request in April
Context A prime tower is a sacrificial structure printed beside a part so the nozzle can purge and re-prime filament, for example after a material change.
What did the jury decide?
The jury found Bambu Lab liable for infringement in building the X1, P1 and A1 printer families. The patents concern prime towers, which the first generation machines use when purging a single nozzle (US 9421713), and bed leveling with strain-gauge and force sensors (US 9168698). Stratasys was awarded $27.6 million. No injunctions have been placed on the machines. Bambu Lab said it disagrees with the verdict and will seek post-trial review and appeal.
Which Bambu Lab products are affected?
The suit names only first generation machines. The X1 was retired earlier this year, and the P1S was nominally replaced by the P2S in October 2025. The A1 and A1 Mini remain on sale. The newer dual-nozzle H2 line and the X2 reportedly avoid the prime tower patent and use optical sensing and reworked bed probing instead of force detection. An unnamed source said Bambu Lab has worked on a prime tower alternative, which is not public.
How does this differ between the US and Europe?
The ruling applies to US patents and so to machines sold in the United States. In Europe, the Unified Patent Court's Hague local division dismissed Stratasys' preliminary injunction request against Bambu Lab in April, and Stratasys did not appeal. Within the wider Texas case, Bambu Lab invalidated a patent on heated build surfaces and flexible spring steel plates, and defended its cloud-connected printing with remote camera monitoring. Four further patents, on material tags, networking, lidar scanning and printer detection, still await judgement.
What it means
For European manufacturers the practical point is that patent exposure is regional: the same printer faces different risk in the US and the EU, as the Hague decision shows. Companies buying or fleet-deploying FDM machines for production may want to ask vendors about patent status in each market of use. The verdict is open to appeal, so supply and pricing effects are uncertain. Design-around moves such as dual-nozzle systems show how quickly hardware can change.
Frequently asked questions
How much must Bambu Lab pay Stratasys?
The jury awarded Stratasys $27.6 million in damages. Bambu Lab says it will seek post-trial review and appeal.
Does the verdict apply in Europe?
No. It covers US patents and machines sold in the US. The Unified Patent Court's Hague division dismissed Stratasys' injunction request in April.
Are Bambu Lab printers banned from sale?
No injunctions have been placed on the machines named in the suit, which are all first generation models.