- The Bambu Lab Stratasys patent verdict 2026 came from a federal jury in the Eastern District of Texas, which found that four Bambu Lab-affiliated companies infringed four of the five patents Stratasys asserted in the case, and ruled that the infringement was willful rather than accidental.
- The jury ordered $27.6 million in damages.
- Bambu Lab says it will seek post-trial review and appeal.
- Stratasys says the win reflects its focus on protecting the intellectual property behind its innovation.
- This is the first of two Stratasys lawsuits; the second still has no trial date.
- Separately, Bambu Lab already won the European side of this same purge-tower fight earlier this year.
Table of Contents
- At a Glance
- What the Jury Decided in the Bambu Lab vs. Stratasys Trial
- How Bambu Lab and Stratasys Responded to the Verdict
- The Bigger Bambu Lab vs. Stratasys Patent War: Where Each Side Stands
- What the Bambu Lab Stratasys Patent Verdict 2026 Means for Buyers
- Why This Patent Fight Matters Beyond Bambu Lab and Stratasys
- What’s Next in the Bambu Lab-Stratasys Patent Fight
- Full Timeline: Bambu Lab vs. Stratasys Patent Dispute
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Bottom Line
At a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Verdict date | September 17-18, 2026 |
| Court | U.S. District Court, E.D. Texas, Marshall Division (Judge Rodney Gilstrap) |
| Patents found infringed | 4 of 5: US 9,421,713 / 7,555,357 / 9,168,698 / 10,556,381 |
| Patent excluded from verdict | US 9,592,660 (already invalidated by PTAB before trial) |
| Infringement finding | Willful |
| Damages | $27.6 million |
| Defendants | Shenzhen Tuozhu Technology, Shanghai Lunkuo Technology, Tuozhu Technology, Bambulab Limited |
| Bambu Lab’s next step | Post-trial review, then appeal |
| Second 2024 lawsuit | Roughly 5 more patents, connectivity/material-tracking, still pending, no trial date |
| Related EU ruling | Bambu Lab won the same purge-tower dispute at Europe’s Unified Patent Court in April 2026 |
Last updated: September 20, 2026.
A federal jury in the Eastern District of Texas ruled this week that four Bambu Lab-affiliated companies willfully infringed four of Stratasys’s patents, and ordered $27.6 million in damages — the largest figure attached to this fight so far. Bambu Lab says it will appeal.
That’s not the whole story, though. This week’s verdict is one round in a fight that’s been running since 2024, and Bambu Lab has won on other fronts, including a European court ruling on this same purge-tower dispute back in April. Here’s what the jury decided, what both sides said in response, and what it changes if you own or want to buy one of their printers.
What the Jury Decided in the Bambu Lab vs. Stratasys Trial
The trial ran a week in Marshall, Texas, in front of Judge Rodney Gilstrap, according to court reporting from the Texas Lawbook. The panel found that four Bambu-affiliated companies infringed four of Stratasys’s patents willfully, meaning the jury believed Bambu Lab knew about the patents and infringed anyway. That’s the figure in the table above, and it’s the largest number attached to this dispute so far.
The named defendants were Shenzhen Tuozhu Technology, Shanghai Lunkuo Technology, Tuozhu Technology, and Bambulab Limited. This was the first trial to reach a verdict out of the two patent infringement suits Stratasys filed against Bambu Lab.
The willfulness finding is worth sitting with for a second. It gives the judge room to increase that award later, which is likely part of why Bambu Lab is heading straight for an appeal instead of trying to negotiate a settlement.
The Four Patents the Jury Found Valid and Infringed
The jury upheld and found infringement on four patents: US 9,421,713 (the “purge tower” patent, central to how multi-material printers clear old filament between color changes), 7,555,357, 9,168,698, and 10,556,381. Between them, these cover purge towers, heated build platforms, and force detection on the tool head. That’s a meaningful chunk of how a modern multi-material FDM printer actually works.
Why the Fifth Patent, US 9,592,660, Wasn’t Part of the Verdict
Stratasys originally asserted five patents in this case. The fifth, US 9,592,660, never made it to the jury. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) had already ruled it invalid before trial, and Stratasys didn’t appeal that decision. It’s now a closed matter, in Bambu’s favor.
How Bambu Lab and Stratasys Responded to the Verdict
In a statement provided to Makers101, Bambu Lab said:
“We appreciate the time and effort of the jury in considering this matter. While we respect the judicial process, we disagree with the verdict reached in this case. The law provides Bambu with the right to seek post-trial review and to appeal, and Bambu intends to avail itself of these legal processes.”
That’s a standard post-loss statement: acknowledge the process, signal disagreement, confirm an appeal is coming. Nothing about it changes what the jury found.
Stratasys issued its own statement after the verdict, given to 3DPrint.com:
“Stratasys remains focused on delivering cutting-edge technologies to customers and protecting the intellectual property that underpins our innovation.”
Shorter than Bambu Lab’s statement, but the same kind of move: assert the win, then move on.
The Bigger Bambu Lab vs. Stratasys Patent War: Where Each Side Stands
This fight has played out on four separate fronts, and Bambu Lab has come out ahead on more of them than this week’s headline suggests.
Bambu Lab’s April 2026 Win at the European Unified Patent Court
Stratasys tried this same purge-tower argument in Europe first. In the UPC’s ruling, the Hague division of the Unified Patent Court dismissed Stratasys’s bid to block Bambu’s H2C printer, finding no infringement of the European counterpart patent, EP2964450. Stratasys didn’t appeal. Bambu has since gone on the offensive there too, filing to invalidate that same European patent.
The Three Different Fates of Bambu Lab’s PTAB Challenges
Separate from the jury trial, Bambu has been fighting these patents at the PTAB, and the results split three ways:
- US 9,592,660: invalidated, Stratasys didn’t appeal. Final.
- US 8,562,324: invalidated. Stratasys asked for Director Review and was turned down, though the appeal window technically stays open.
- US 9,421,713, the patent the jury just ruled on: the PTAB upheld it as valid. Bambu has appealed that outcome to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and that appeal is still pending.
Bambu Lab also went on offense at the USPTO this past June, challenging patents Stratasys holds. Results there were mixed, a detail most coverage of this week’s verdict has left out.
The Second Stratasys Lawsuit Still Waiting for Trial
Stratasys’s original complaints covered ten patents split across two lawsuits. This trial resolved the first set. Court filings reviewed by 3D Printing Industry describe the second lawsuit as covering roughly five more patents tied to printer connectivity and material-tracking features, though the exact list hasn’t been confirmed in public reporting the way the first case’s patents have. That second case hasn’t been scheduled for trial, and whatever happens there is a separate question from this week’s verdict.
What the Bambu Lab Stratasys Patent Verdict 2026 Means for Buyers
Nothing changes for you today. The jury ordered Bambu Lab to pay damages. It didn’t order Bambu Lab to stop selling printers in the US, and the machines you already own keep working exactly as they did before this ruling.
What’s worth watching is the appeal. Bambu Lab plans to pursue post-trial review, then take the case to the Federal Circuit, a process that typically runs well over a year. A separate appeal over whether patent 9,421,713 is even valid could matter more in the long run: if that patent gets struck down, it could unwind part of this week’s verdict entirely.
If you’re currently picking the right Bambu Lab printer to buy, this case isn’t a reason to hold off. It’s a reason to keep an eye on the appeal timeline over the next year or so.
Why This Patent Fight Matters Beyond Bambu Lab and Stratasys
Nearly every serious multi-material FDM printer on the market clears filament with some version of a purge tower. That’s why this case has drawn attention across the whole industry, well beyond Bambu Lab’s own customers.
There’s also a pattern worth noting in Bambu Lab’s own recent behavior. In August 2026, the company filed and then published three patents covering its own 10-nozzle multi-head printing system, timed to lock in priority just twelve days before its H2C launch.
It also fits a broader story: Stratasys built its early dominance on patents from the 2000s and 2010s, and has spent the last few years defending them in court against the company that reshaped the 3D printing market faster than any competitor managed to — patents that have also survived multiple PTAB validity challenges, including the one central to this week’s verdict.
What’s Next in the Bambu Lab-Stratasys Patent Fight
Nothing about this fight resolves quickly from here. Bambu Lab’s post-trial motions and Federal Circuit appeal on this verdict will take time to work through. Separately, the CAFC still has to decide whether patent 9,421,713 holds up at all, a ruling that could undercut this whole verdict if Bambu Lab wins it. And the second Stratasys lawsuit is still sitting without a trial date.
The CAFC appeal on patent validity is the one that actually decides how this ends. A settlement or a fresh trial on damages just moves numbers around. Losing the patent altogether would take Stratasys’s core weapon away for good.
Full Timeline: Bambu Lab vs. Stratasys Patent Dispute
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| August 8, 2024 | Stratasys files two patent infringement lawsuits in E.D. Texas |
| June 2025 | US cases consolidated into a single action (No. 2:25-cv-00465-JRG) |
| April 24, 2026 | UPC Hague dismisses Stratasys’s injunction bid against the Bambu Lab H2C. Bambu wins in Europe |
| June 2026 | Bambu challenges Stratasys patents at the USPTO; results mixed |
| September 17-18, 2026 | E.D. Texas jury finds Bambu Lab infringed 4 of 5 patents, willfully. $27.6M awarded to Stratasys |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it still safe to buy a Bambu Lab printer right now?
Yes, for now. This is a damages verdict, and buying or owning a Bambu Lab printer isn’t affected by it.
Who owns the patent for 3D printing purge towers?
It’s contested. Stratasys holds several patents covering the technology, including US 9,421,713, which a jury just found valid and infringed by Bambu Lab. The same patent family lost in Europe, though, and Bambu is still appealing the US patent’s validity separately at the Federal Circuit.
Does this Bambu Lab verdict affect sales in Europe?
No. Europe runs on a separate legal system, the Unified Patent Court, where Bambu Lab already beat Stratasys on this exact purge-tower issue back in April.
What does “willful” patent infringement mean?
It’s a legal finding that a company knew about a patent and infringed it anyway. Willfulness findings can open the door to higher damages later in the process.
What happens next in this case?
Two things are moving at once: Bambu Lab’s appeal of this verdict, and a separate Federal Circuit case over whether the core patent is even valid. Both are likely to take months to play out.
The Bottom Line
This is one loss in a fight Bambu Lab has otherwise been winning. Europe went its way. Two of the five original patents in this case are dead. The one behind this week’s damages award is also the one it’s still appealing.
None of that erases the verdict. But it does mean the “Bambu Lab loses” headline is only true for this particular courtroom, on this particular week. The rest of the fight is still very much open.
