Carbon’s European Patent No. 3158400, covering its dual-cure printing process, has survived an appeal at the European Patent Office. A Board of Appeal ruled on September 24, 2026 to dismiss a competitor’s challenge, confirming an earlier Opposition Division decision that kept claim 1 intact, and going further by reinstating dependent claims that had been struck out in that first ruling. Carbon announced the outcome on September 28.
The patent, titled “Methods of producing three-dimensional objects from materials having multiple mechanisms of hardening,” was filed roughly ten years ago and granted in 2022. Oxon IP B.V. filed the opposition in 2023 on behalf of an unnamed competitor, following two third-party observations lodged during examination in 2019 and 2021. The 2025 opposition decision kept the patent alive but removed dependent claims, prompting two separate appeals filed on February 28 and March 3, 2025. TCT Magazine notes the dual filings suggest Carbon itself lodged one of the two appeals, pushing for the broader claim scope it has now won back.
The technology pairs a light-based print step with a secondary thermally activated cure, letting Carbon tune a part’s temperature resistance, durability, elasticity and strength after the initial print, work Carbon says underpins output for automotive, dental, medical and consumer products. CEO Philip DeSimone called the ruling confirmation of the “strength and breadth” of the platform’s foundational chemistry.
Carbon was represented by Mairi Rudkin and Donald McNab of Marks & Clerk, with Myers Bigel handling global patent prosecution and Kathi Vidal and Dustin Edwards of Winston Taylor on litigation. Neither source names the competitor behind the original challenge or the specific dependent claims restored.