Tuozhu (拓竹) Didn’t Print a Single Real Labubu, but Printed Out Pop Mart’s (泡泡玛特) Anxiety

Settlement after a year-long clash

Tuozhu (拓竹), one of China’s leading consumer 3D‑printer makers, has reportedly reached a settlement with Pop Mart (泡泡玛特) that will see all Labubu‑related 3D model files removed from Tuozhu’s MakerWorld community. It has been reported that the key term of the agreement is a comprehensive takedown of “Labubu” models from the platform — a move that cancels a planned court showdown on April 2 and closes a dispute that began with legal letters in May and October 2025 and culminated in a lawsuit earlier this year.

Makers, fans and imperfect replicas

The flashpoint was MakerWorld (MakerWorld模型社区), Tuozhu’s user‑driven model‑sharing site where hobbyists upload and download printable files. What users made were not plush, finished Labubus; they were hard‑resin, high‑precision “shape replicas” rather than the furry, accessory‑laden originals. But does near‑shape parity matter when scarcity is the currency? Reportedly, thousands of Labubu files flooded MakerWorld in mid‑2025 and individual downloads hit tens of thousands, galvanizing social posts showing home‑printed facsimiles and even small‑scale resellers offering printed versions online.

Why a crude print can puncture a premium

Pop Mart’s business is built on IP, surprise mechanics and manufactured scarcity — Labubu and the THE MONSTERS line alone reportedly contributed more than a third of 2025 H1 revenues. When a consumer tool can cheaply reproduce the core silhouette of a best‑selling figure, the “complex production” argument that underpinned scarcity is suddenly less persuasive to collectors and investors. The market noticed: Pop Mart’s Hong Kong‑listed shares peaked at HK$339.8 on August 26, 2025, and, amid questions over renewability of IP momentum, had slid to about HK$215.4 by March 17, 2026 — a rough market‑cap erosion of roughly HK$166.8 billion by one estimate.

Bigger picture: tech, IP and shifting scarcity

This episode is a test case for China’s consumer tech ecosystem. Tuozhu — a five‑year‑old hardware star that reportedly topped global consumer 3D‑printer shipments in 2024 and posted rapid revenue growth in 2025 — showed how accessible fabrication can upset an IP‑driven product model. It has been reported that global consumer 3D‑printing markets are set to expand rapidly through 2029. Amid broader debates over intellectual property, export controls and supply‑chain narratives in the tech rivalry between China and the West, the Tuozhu–Pop Mart spat raises a simple question: when fans can approximate an icon at home, how durable is scarcity as a source of value?