July 16, 2026
In May, Software Freedom Conservancy announced a comprehensive response to Bambu Lab's AGPL violations. This included a fundraiser to support specific Right to Repair work that would help protect the rights enshrined in copyleft in the 3D printing community. A few days remain in the fundraiser, yet we happily announce that we've already hit our goal of raising US$250,007! Thanks to everyone who has supported us during this fundraiser. This success highlights that our community understands how critical copylefted firmware and software is for 3D printers (and elsewhere).
Copyleft is the crucial FOSS licensing component that grants users and consumers ownership over their own technology. We thank the 3D printing community for embracing copyleft in general (and the AGPLv3 in particular) early in its history. Your enthusiasm for software freedom inspires us. Thanks to your donations, we now have the resources to evaluate the best steps in our Baltobu project to bring software freedom quickly to Bambu Lab 3D printer owners. Today, we launch a traditional FOSS mailing list for the Baltobu project and we welcome everyone to subscribe!
We are also thrilled to announce that we are hiring a staff attorney to help us prepare and litigate future lawsuits we may need to bring. We never seek litigation as a first tactic, but we recognize the importance of the legal system as one of the equalizers of power. Sometimes, impact litigation is the best vehicle for substantive change to protect consumers' software right to repair. Companies increasingly refuse to follow the pro-user terms of copyleft licenses and contracts, despite repeated requests and demands for better behavior. This leaves lawsuits as our only option. As we move into a world with more enshrined Rights to Repair, we know that this addition to our team will enable us to further improve users' relationship with their technology.
Thanks again to all of you who supported us already. Our fundraiser continues until July 18ᵗʰ, 2026. If you are able: the best way to support us is with a recurring Sustainer donation. Regular support is critical for a small organization like ours, and we thank our donors again.