3D printing's "Labbubu freedom" is facing a copyright reckoning.
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“Just after I finished printing a head, the model was gone.”
Recently, a player complained on social media that their 3D printer was forced to stop working, leaving only a freshly molded LABUBU head on the base plate.
As the model links collectively became invalid, this “0-cost limited edition designer toy” plan could only come to an abrupt end.
The culprit behind this model “shortage” across the internet was a lawsuit.
Recently, Pop Mart took 3D printing unicorn TCTECH (Tuozhu Tech) to court, with a lawsuit directly pointing to copyright ownership and infringement disputes.
At the center of the storm is MakerWorld, the world’s largest 3D model community under TCTECH, with the highest monthly active users globally.
Previously, the platform was long flooded with a large number of unauthorized user-uploaded “LABUBU” 3D printing models, which may have infringed on Pop Mart’s IP copyrights.
Currently, MakerWorld has quickly taken all related IP models offline.
In fact, this is a compliance issue faced by the entire industry.
According to All Weather Technology’s research, apart from TCTECH, communities under 3D printer maker Creality’s Creality Cloud and laser engraver brand xTool’s Atomm also have users widely sharing model resources from well-known IPs.
Pop Mart’s lawsuit may be just the beginning; whether more copyright holders will go to court against UGC (user-generated content) communities of hardware manufacturers involved in infringement is drawing attention.
Killing the chicken to scare the monkey?
The fuse for this lawsuit was the large number of unauthorized “LABUBU” and other 3D printing models in TCTECH’s MakerWorld community, triggering Pop Mart’s dissatisfaction.
Currently, the MakerWorld platform has taken all Pop Mart-related IP 3D models offline.
Many industry insiders believe that TCTECH may have infringed on Pop Mart’s reproduction, distribution, and internet dissemination rights for the “LABUBU” copyright.
“Commercially, if permission has not been obtained from Pop Mart, TCTECH cannot arbitrarily reproduce, distribute, or communicate LABUBU-related images over information networks,” said lawyer Guo Song from Taihe Tai Law Firm. “As the manufacturer and seller of 3D printers and the platform provider, TCTECH knows or should know that users uploading, posting, and sharing such 3D print models in MakerWorld would constitute infringement against Pop Mart.”
In fact, TCTECH long ago recognized the risks around IP and set up “disclaimer terms.”
For example, TCTECH’s MakerWorld user agreement emphasizes that if user content is judged to infringe third-party IP rights, they have the right to remove the content and require users to take responsibility for what they upload.
“When uploading user content, users agree to indemnify and hold MakerWorld harmless against any and all claims and/or findings for IP infringements and any resulting damages,” TCTECH states.
But whether this disclaimer clause is effective remains in doubt.
“It may depend on whether the disclaimer clause was already in the user agreement before the infringement occurred, or if it was updated afterwards. If it was there before the infringement, it may exempt some responsibilities; if it was added after, its effectiveness is limited,” pointed out an intellectual property lawyer in Shenzhen.
But another IP lawyer in the south pointed out: “Most platforms have such IP clauses, but regarding user-uploaded models, platforms have a duty of care; if it constitutes ‘knew or should have known,’ the platform needs to bear corresponding responsibility.”
In the eyes of many legal professionals, this lawsuit by Pop Mart against TCTECH may be meant to ‘kill the chicken to warn the monkey.’
An IP lawyer in Beijing told All Weather Technology that in commercial litigation, rights protection also considers the input-output ratio. Suing vast numbers of C-end users not only has extremely high evidence-collection costs, but the compensation is minuscule. But suing device manufacturers with massive infringing communities directly not only raises the claim base dramatically, but also cuts off the infringement chain more thoroughly.
MakerWorld indeed holds significant position in the 3D printing industry. According to reports, by October 2025 the community’s monthly active users were close to ten million, with total models exceeding one million, making it the world’s most active 3D model community.
With this lever of tens of millions of monthly actives, any unauthorized IP model can be downloaded and printed thousands of times in no time. For Pop Mart, this is direct “bloodletting” from IP monetization.
With Pop Mart suing TCTECH, the industry may reassess copyright risks behind 3D printing.
Hidden Reefs of IP
In fact, infringement is not a sporadic loophole for TCTECH alone, but a common problem for UGC communities of major 3D printer hardware makers.
Although MakerWorld has urgently taken down the “LABUBU” and other involved models, Disney’s top IPs such as Mickey, Judy from Zootopia are still easily searchable on the community.
Similar incidents have also occurred at 3D printer manufacturer Creality; in their Creality Cloud community, Pop Mart’s “Star People” model resources are also blatantly on display.
Moreover, in laser engraver brand xTool’s community Atomm, many users are freely sharing printing files for Nintendo’s classic IP Pikachu, Judy and Nick from Zootopia.
The reason manufacturers are collectively testing copyright red lines is to push forward with the “hardware + ecosystem” business model.
In recent years, whether it’s 3D printing or laser engraving, these fields have worked to shed their “hardcore geek” labels and shift toward mainstream consumer products.
To lower user barriers, boost machine sales and repeat purchases of materials, building their own model communities and providing masses of free templates has become the common solution for all manufacturers.
By this logic, anime and designer toy IPs with large fan bases and public recognition naturally become the platform’s “free bait” to attract and activate users.
Some platforms, while enjoying the daily activity and machine usage brought by infringing models, maintain an ambiguous, delayed approach to reviewing infringing models.
But when TCTECH and other 3D-printing companies grow into unicorns, and their communities’ monthly activity exceeds ten million, this large-scale “zero-cost substitute” becomes a substantial split of the original copyright owner’s commercial interests.
This could also bring more compliance challenges to Creality and xTool as they rush toward IPOs.
All Weather Technology notes that in the risk disclosures of these companies’ prospectuses, neither has given special focus to the risk of users in their communities sharing unauthorized IP content.
When a 3D printer sold for several thousand yuan can easily and effortlessly “produce” a LABUBU, a Star Person, or a Minnie, this seemingly zero-cost “replacement” essentially transforms the copyright owner's core assets into free bargaining chips for hardware manufacturers to sell machines.
Now, with IP giants like Pop Mart beginning to scrutinize this once secretive corner under a magnifying glass, the time left for relevant manufacturers to “get on board first, buy a ticket later” is running out.
Saying goodbye to the shortcut of wild traffic growth and paying real money for copyright compliance is the tuition that must be paid for this hundred-billion-yuan track to truly mature.
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