Four and a half years ago, in the wake of HBO’s decision to send a DMCA notice removing a 3D printed Game of Thrones iPhone dock from the internet, I wrote a short blog post titled HBO, Give People a Way to Buy Your 3D Printed Stuff for the Public Knowledge blog.  Today I get to write a post celebrating the fact that Valve has decided to do just that.

In August I filed a petition with the US Copyright Office asking to renew the current rule that allows owners of 3D printers to use whatever filament or material they want in their printers.  This petition, which is part of the Copyright Office’s triennial 1201 rulemaking process, was aimed at renewing the exemption granted three years ago.  Today I filed a new petition asking the Copyright Office to go further and expand its existing petition so it makes sense.

Today I, along with the Owners’ Rights Initiative, filed a petition with the US Copyright Office asking them to renew the exemption that allows people to unlock their 3D printers and use whatever material in the printers they wish.  This is a request to renew the exemption that the Copyright Office originally granted back in 2015.  You can read about that exemption here.

This post originally appeared on the Shapeways blog.