The patent is the cornerstone of the company's value. There is a trade secret element to this (the exact implementation) but such things will "leak", be improved upon, etc. The patent is the thing that protects that IP.
In this case 3D data has (contrary to 3DP's marketing) been solved many, many times. Yet those solutions have improved dramatically over time in terms of hardware, software, and data structure. There are a few key elements to this:
how is the data stored in a way that takes minimal space but can be retrieved, searched, & uncompressed (if needed) quickly
how is the relevant data selected, i.e. for a given scene how can the minimum number of required points be retrieved (vs every point)
how is the relevant data rendered, i.e. optimize the render by excluding any occluded points or shapes
The understand the true value of the patent you need an industry-relevant patent lawyer - someone who can interpret the validity, genericity, and enforceability of this patent. This depends not just on the content of this patent but also other "competing" patents in the space, i.e. someone else may have patented something exceedingly similar. Personally the entire software patent business is a load of sh!t but it is what it is, and I'm glad (as an investor) that 3DP have a few of these very general yet explicit patents.
The end state or goal would be that this mechanism is so efficient, and the patent is so general, that it makes more sense for 3D data producers to simply license a 3DP solution than to use a license free alternative. This then either creates a revenue stream, or creates a network / lock-in effect where all this data works (and only works) with the 3DP ecosystem.
3DP Price at posting:
88.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
