A company that makes 3D printers may have just messed with the wrong developer, after the Right to Repair activist said he’s ready to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees to help the man keep his code.

“I'll put up $10,000 to teach Bambu Lab a lesson,” said Louis Rossmann, an independent electronics technician and consumer rights activist with 2.5 million YouTube subscribers, in his video.

In the video, which gained almost 150,000 views in a day, Rossmann shared that he is ready to financially support developer Pawel Jarczak, who was threatened with a cease-and-desist letter from Bambu Lab, a tech company focused on desktop 3D printers.

“If Bamboo Labs goes after you for keeping up your code, I am so confident in your case that I will pay the first $10,000,” said the activist.

Rossmann also encouraged others to express their support for Jarczak, so that the developer would bring back his code and set a precedent for cases when big tech companies go after independent developers who find a way for consumers to use their devices without certain restrictions.

“In my opinion, you bought it, you owned it, and you should not have to deal with any of this type of legal crap for simply making something that allows people to use what they want to use in the way that they wanted to,” noted Rossmann.

Developer vs Bambu Lab

The developer was threatened by the company over his “OrcaSlicer-BambuLab” project, which provides 3D printer users with free, open-source software that converts 3D models into G-code instructions for printers.

Jarczak put an end to the project, which allowed users to bypass Bambu Connect, a security application that restricts OrcaSlicer’s access to printer functionality, after receiving legal threats from Bambu Lab, Toms’ Hardware reported.

On his GitHub page, the developer shared that the company accused him of numerous violations, including impersonating Bambu Studio, bypassing authorization controls, and violating their terms of use.

Rossmann’s YouTube video also included a link to the Consumer Rights Wiki page, which detailed the situation with Bambu Lab and its relation to the Right to Repair movement.

The movement was built around the idea that if you buy something, you own it, so you also have the right to fix it or use it as you please.

However, for Bambu Lab 3D printers, this isn’t entirely true, as they're known to be hard to repair, according to Tom’s Hardware.

Bambu Connect: Another example of how companies manage our devices?

The company released Bambu Connect at the beginning of 2025 to enhance printer security and control third-party tool integration.

However, it soon received backlash from users on the Bambu Lab forum. Some called it “a way for Bambu to exert more control over how printers could be accessed and integrated with third-party tools.”

In his video, Rossmann shared that Jarczak isn’t the first developer to try to bypass additional systems, naming Mazda and Haier as companies that also went after developers for doing so.

Besides the reduced right to repair, some consumers have also noticed that more hardware features are being locked behind paid subscriptions.

Recently, a woman learned she couldn’t use her HP printer because she didn't pay for a subscription that would allow her to print.

Printers aren’t the only devices that can’t be used without an active subscription. The list also includes smart rings, cars, smart fridges, and more, making consumers more cautious about what they're actually buying.

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