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3D Printing

We Know 3D Printing

Our cross-practice 3D Printing group assists clients with the unique legal needs of 3D printing and additive manufacturing businesses. We advise clients on all facets of the 3D printing and additive manufacturing industry, including equity, debt and alternative financing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, general corporate litigation and cybersecurity issues. We also advise manufacturers using or considering using 3D printing, and companies concerned about how 3D printing will affect their businesses.

3D printing, or additive manufacturing, makes objects by joining materials layer by layer based on a digital 3D model. Many different types of 3D printing technologies exist, including material extrusion, stereolithography, and selective laser sintering. The 3D printing market is growing rapidly and consolidating, as is the development and refinement of new 3D printing technologies.

Our Team

Our team, led by partners Vann Pearce, Chris Higgins, and Aria Kashefi, possess deep insight into the 3D printing industry and have represented several clients in this field on a variety of matters. Vann and Chris have litigated some of the most high-profile intellectual property disputes between 3D printing companies while also counseling clients on IP portfolio development and licensing issues. They regularly comment on emerging legal trends in this area as featured speakers at 3D printing conferences in the U.S. and abroad and in leading industry publications and legal journals such as the World Intellectual Property Law Review.

Aria Kashefi has advised 3D printing companies through all stages of their development, including early - and late-stage equity financings, debt financings, alternative financing structures, acquisitions and more. He brings industry knowledge, extensive legal experience and engineering background together to advise additive manufacturing clients on strategic matters as well as day-to-day legal needs.

Creativity and Commitment to All Matters

Our 3D Printing group counsels clients on the electrical, software and chemical aspects of 3D printing. We also provide practical solutions to obtain and utilize intellectual property, whether it be filing patents applications, licensing intellectual property rights, or asserting or defending against claims of infringement. The 3D Printing group has received praise from global media company 3D Printing Industry (3DPI) for turning a 3D printing patent application into "a modern work of art."

We bring this same level of creativity and commitment to all 3D printing matters. We have assisted clients with creative financing and acquisition structures as well as more normal-course equity and debt financing deals.

We apply the same ethos to day-to-day general corporate advice that we provide to our clients - be it related to employment matters, data security and privacy matters or stockholders management.

A Comprehensive Global Platform

We bring a comprehensive, global platform to assist companies involved with all aspects of their 3D printing business. Our Technology Companies Group – with a presence across the U.S. and 25 markets worldwide – has guided 3D printing companies in financing, acquisition and general corporate matters. Our structured finance team has advised 3D printing clients on alternative and securitized debt structures. Our technology transactions team has assisted clients in striking practical, prudent partnerships and distribution agreements all across the globe. Our litigation team has prosecuted "bet-the-farm" IP matters as well as crucial stockholders, commercial and other contractual matters. Besides crucial litigation, our Intellectual Property team also has helped clients with pre-litigation disputes concerning utility and design patents, trademarks, and false advertising; we also have helped several 3D printing companies build their IP portfolios from the ground up. And our Cyber, Privacy & Data Innovation group has assisted many of our tech company clients to develop legal solutions to address global data privacy concerns and proactively manage cybersecurity risk to protect brand and reputation.

This global presence also ensures that we can scale along with our clients' growth. We are able to guide all our clients, early-stage startups to established and growth-stage companies alike in all facets of their business needs, helping grow and establish a robust 3D printing industry worldwide, while providing advice on legal strategies and tactical approaches.

Our teams have the tools to help 3D printing manufacturers, distributors, and end user protect their most important assets and grow their business.

    • Represented Continuous Composites, Inc. in a patent infringement trial in federal court in Delaware, resulting in a jury verdict in our client’s favor. Read more.
    • Advised DyeMansion on its Series A and Series B financing rounds. Read more.
    • Represented Desktop Metal, Inc. in a trade secret, patent infringement, and breach of fiduciary duty trial related to 3D printing technology in federal court in Massachusetts. The matter settled during trial.
    • Advised Nexa3D, a California based company that manufactures fast industrial-grade stereolithography 3D printers designed to offer 3D printing solutions, in its multi-million dollar financing.
    • Advised Nexa3D in its acquisition of Essentium, a Texas based company that manufactures and delivers innovative industrial 3D printers and materials.
    • Advised Nexa3D in its acquisition of Addifab Aps, a Denmark based company that is the developer of agile manufacturing solutions Designed to perform additive manufacturing and injection molding.
    • Advised TDK Ventures in its investment in the $50 million dollar Series B financing of Fabric8Labs, a California based company pioneering electrochemical additive manufacturing in the 3D metal printing space designed to offer an alternative to the current powder bed fusion technologies.
    • Advised Arris Composites, a California based company that developed high-performance 3D-aligned continuous fiber composite materials designed for mass-market applications including aerospace, automotive, and consumer products, in its multimillion-dollar Series C-1 financing.
    • Representing start-up developer of 3D printing technology for medical applications in its intellectual property matters.
    • Represented two 3D printing manufacturers in investigation of possible intellectual property infringement by competitors.
    • Represented developer of large-scale 3D printing technology in its intellectual property and licensing matters.
    • Represented many start-up developers of 3D printing technologies, applications of 3D printing, and related software products in patent prosecution and portfolio development.

Client Results