FORM 1: An affordable, professional 3D printer
Raised: $2,945,885
PrusAL modular opensource 3D printer
Raised: $1,777
Eventorbot! open source 3d printer
Raised: $137,508
Bukobot 3D Printer - Affordable 3D with No Compromises!
Raised: $167,410
HYREL 3D Printer
Raised: $152,942
The Vision : Not Just a 3D Printer... A DREAM
Raised: $65,346
Open Source Universal 3D Printer Extruder | DUAL EXTRUSION
Raised: $73,361
--------------------------http://www.3dsystems.com/personal-3d-printers
Imagine selling product in the $1,200 to $5,000 range and having a Kickstarter campaign suck well over three million dollars from the market. This is what is called a displacement market. For the most part people are not going to go out and purchase multiple hobby 3D printers simultaneously. They'll either buy one or the other, not two or more. This means that this is three million dollars of potential 3D Systems sales that simply evaporated from the horizon.
I can understand what that might feel like from their vantage point. I have not reviewed the patent or patents in question. Perhaps someone can post links to them. This means that I really can't have an opinion as to whether these are bullshit patents or real invention patents. Having read through hundreds of patents over the years it is my opinion that most patents --software or not-- are solidly in the category of bullshit patents.
My test is the distinction between implementation and true invention. The first is something that any individual or team of reasonably qualified engineers could execute on if asked to do so. Invention is where you ask a bunch of engineers to solve the problem and only one or two out of ten might do it and the rest are left scratching their heads. If we adopted some such definition as a validity test the world might just be a much nicer place for all.
I just don't know on this one yet. I do know that loosing three million dollars in business will make anyone angry enough to reach for legal recourse if they have it.