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06 March 2026
Pop Mart International Group Ltd. has filed a copyright lawsuit in China against Shenzhen Bambu Technology Co., Ltd., alleging the 3D‑printer maker’s model‑sharing site MakerWorld hosted user‑uploaded files based on Pop Mart’s Labubu character and enabled low‑cost home printing, intensifying scrutiny of platform responsibility in consumer 3D printing.
Specialist outlets described the case as focusing on whether a platform can face joint liability if it knew or should have known about infringing uploads and failed to act.
Bambu Lab positions MakerWorld as a core part of its business model, pairing hardware sales with a large library of user designs. According to the company’s 2025 data report, MakerWorld roughly had 10 million monthly active users and a catalog that expanded to about 2.6 million original models by year‑end.
Media accounts last year said MakerWorld carried a large number of Labubu‑related files. A flagship listing on the site currently shows download totals in the high five figures for one Labubu model. Specialist coverage in early March 2026 reported broad removals of Labubu‑related entries as moderation intensified.
Following news of the lawsuit, searches on MakerWorld for Pop Mart IP, such as “Labubu,” appeared to return no results, according to users and media outlets, suggesting a broad takedown campaign by Bambu Lab. Users have raised complaints and forum discussions over stricter moderation of branded keywords dating to 2025. All3DP, a specialist 3D‑printing outlet, also reported widespread removals and mounting community concern over unpredictable takedowns.
Pop Mart has a strong incentive to defend Labubu, the company’s crown‑jewel IP. In February 2026, Pop Mart said Labubu unit sales exceeded 100 million in 2025, with more than 400 million units sold across all Pop Mart intellectual properties that year, according to business outlets. Analysts have linked the brand’s blind‑box model to perceptions of scarcity and collectability, a dynamic they say supports demand for flagship characters like Labubu.
Pop Mart’s shares have also shown sharp swings as investors weighed the durability of the Labubu boom, including a roughly 7 percent drop on September 8, 2025, after Hang Seng Index inclusion and a roughly 9% slide on September 15, 2025, following a JPMorgan downgrade.
As of this week, third‑party uptime dashboards indicated MakerWorld was operating normally.
Neither party has published a publicly accessible complaint or docket for the Chinese filing, and courts in China typically disclose judgments, if at all, after proceedings conclude, limiting independent verification of case details beyond company statements and media reports.
- Cathy Li
