Pop Mart vs. Bambu Lab Copyright Dispute: Both Sides Clash Over "Pre-Litigation Communication"

The copyright infringement dispute between China's leading plush toy company Pop Mart and 3D printing unicorn Tiertime is about to escalate into a legal battle.

The case will officially go to trial on April 2.

This infringement dispute originated from MakerWorld, the world's most active 3D model community owned by Bambu Lab.

Previously, the platform had long been flooded with numerous unauthorized “LABUBU” 3D-printed models uploaded by users.

“LABUBU,” a star IP under POP MART, possesses extremely high commercial value. The widespread distribution of unauthorized models has been alleged to directly infringe upon POP MART’s copyright in this IP, thereby triggering the current litigation.

MakerWorld has quickly taken down all related IP models.

Although the trial has not yet commenced, the two parties have already engaged in intense contention over the issue of “whether pre-litigation communication took place.”

On the afternoon of March 9, citing unnamed sources, Economic Observer reported that prior to being sued, it had not received any communication requests from Pop Mart.

However, Pop Mart gave a completely different response.

An insider close to Pop Mart confirmed to 24/7 Tech: “Pop Mart’s legal team formally wrote to Bambu Lab twice—once in May 2025 and again in October 2025—regarding platform infringement issues, and ultimately filed a formal lawsuit.”

Regarding the response from Pop Mart, TechWeb subsequently sought to verify the authenticity of the letter with TuoZhu Technology, but as of the time of publication, no official response had been received from TuoZhu Technology.

It is worth noting that pre-litigation communication is also a crucial step.

“Here, it is also necessary to distinguish the tone of the communication letter—whether it is amicable negotiation or a formal legal notice. However, regardless of the approach, if Bambu Lab is aware of the infringing activities but fails to promptly halt them, and instead allows them to continue and escalate, it may bear even greater legal liability.” A legal professional in Shenzhen told Around-the-Clock Technology.

This dispute not only involves specific copyright ownership but also reflects the compliance challenges faced by UGC (User-Generated Content) 3D printing platforms in the content ecosystem.

Whether and how the two parties will reach reconciliation is drawing attention.