Markforged to pay $17.34 million to Continuous Composites
In the patent-infringement lawsuit, which began in 2021, the jury recently found one of the two patent claims asserted at trial to be valid
On 11 April 2024, the jury in the US District Court for the District of Delaware reached a verdict in Markforged Holding Corporation’s ongoing patent lawsuit with Continuous Composites Inc. The jury returned a verdict against Markforged, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Markforged Holding Corporation, in the amount of $17.34 million.
As previously disclosed, in July 2021, Continuous Composites, a company based out of Idaho, filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Markforged. As we previously reported in April last year, the jury found one of the two patent claims Continuous Composites asserted at trial against the company to be invalid and not infringed. However, the jury found that the company had infringed the other patent claim and awarded monetary damages. While Markforged cannot predict what additional action Continuous Composites may take, it is possible that they may seek additional relief through post-trial motions for royalty payments on future revenue, which could materially impact the company’s business and operations.
Markforged is reportedly exploring all available options, including seeking to overturn the verdict and any resulting judgment through the appeals process.
Over the past few years, Markforged has emerged as a leader in the continuous fiber composites 3D printing hardware market and a relevant player in the metal AM market (where the company has faced a patent infringement case against Desktop Metal), with yearly revenues topping $100 million.
Recently, the company released its Q4 and full-year 2023 results, which reported that, compared to Q4 2022 results, revenue was $24.2 million, up 20.4% sequentially from Q3 2023, and down from $29.7 million in Q4 2022; gross margin was 48.4% compared to 46.9%; non-GAAP gross margin was 49.5% compared to 47.5%; operating expenses were $31.1 million, inclusive of an increase in the fair value estimate of an acquisition earnout of $0.9 million, compared to $33.2 million; non-GAAP operating expenses were $24.9 million compared to $29.4 million; net loss was $14.2 million compared to net loss of $10.7 million; non-GAAP net loss was $11.6 million compared to a loss of $13.3 million; and cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments were $116.9 million as of December 31, 2023 compared to $167.9 million as of December 31, 2022.
