The Software Freedom Conservancy has accused Bambu Lab of violating AGPLv3 open-source licensing obligations after the company threatened a developer over a community-built OrcaSlicer fork that bypassed its proprietary networking system.
The Software Freedom Conservancy has accused Bambu Lab of violating AGPLv3 open-source licence obligations while attempting to crack down on a community-developed software fork tied to its 3D-printing ecosystem.
The dispute intensified after Bambu Lab issued a cease-and-desist notice to independent developer Paweł Jarczak over OrcaSlicer-bambulab, a modified fork hosted on GitHub. The fork bypassed Bambu Lab’s Bambu Connect service and used a custom Rust-based networking implementation instead of the company’s proprietary bambu_networking plugin.
According to the SFC, Bambu Lab’s restrictions violate AGPLv3 because the copyleft licence does not permit additional limitations on user freedoms. The organisation further argued that because the bambu_networking plugin is essential for Bambu Studio to function, it must also comply with AGPLv3 requirements.
Bambu Studio itself is derived from PrusaSlicer, which originated from Slic3r — both licensed under AGPLv3.
Joseph Prusa publicly stated that Bambu Lab was violating AGPLv3 and warned the company’s actions raised “red flags” regarding security.
Right-to-repair advocate Louis Rossmann pledged up to $10,000 in legal support for Jarczak, with Gamers Nexus matching the amount. Rossmann also offered to host the disputed fork on his FULU Foundation GitHub.
Defending its position, Bambu Lab stated: “The AGPL, the DMCA, and Bambu Lab’s terms do not permit reverse engineering that violates applicable protocols, rules, or circumvents technical protection measures protecting our cloud services.”
