Stratasys' Strategy in a Post-Patent World

Stratasys, one of the largest 3D printing companies in the world today, faces transition. While the company built itself upon the FDM (fused deposition modeling) process it invented years ago, the patent for that process has expired.

With the expiration of the key patents, other organizations have replicated (no pun intended) the process and gave rise to such ventures as RepRap, MakerBot and many others. These low-cost options will eventually become sufficiently reliable and capable to compete directly against Stratasys, although they are nowhere near that stage yet.

So what is Stratasys to do?

They've already taken one step: acquiring Objet, a competitor with a different 3D printing process that remains protected under patent. This preserves Stratasys' original business model, at least for a while.

But there's another approach Stratasys can use: Materials.

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