# Correspondence with SainSmart support Reproduced verbatim. Timestamps as shown in Gmail. Nothing edited or omitted. --- ## 1. Request sent, 2026-08-17 17:10 **From:** J. S. **To:** support@sainsmart.com **Subject:** Formal Source Code Request (GPLv3) - Genmitsu 3030-PROVer MAX Firmware > To Whom It May Concern, > > I am a customer using the Genmitsu 3030-PROVer MAX CNC router. The firmware > provided for this machine is a modified derivative of GRBL, which is licensed under > the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3). [1] > > Under the terms of the GPLv3 license, any distributor of binaries compiled from this > code must make the corresponding, complete source code available to the users who > receive the product. [1] > > Please provide a link to the complete source code, including the custom > multi-axis/4th-axis configuration files, or forward this request to your compliance > and engineering teams. > > Thank you, > Jason > **Note on the opening sentence.** The sender is not a purchaser of a 3030-PROVer MAX > and that sentence was inaccurate. It is left here unedited rather than quietly > removed, because an evidence record that has been tidied up is worth nothing. > > It does not affect the request, and the request never depended on it. GPLv3 section > 6(d) attaches to distribution, not to a sale: SainSmart publishes this firmware as a > public download requiring no login, no account and no proof of purchase, and the > sender received it from that URL. That is the basis relied on throughout, and it is > the basis stated in the reply of 2026-08-18. See "Basis for the request" on the > evidence page. --- ## 2. SainSmart reply, 2026-08-18 04:14 **From:** SainSmart Support (Jamie) > Hello Jason, > > Thanks for contacting SainSmart! This is Jamie from SainSmart support. > > Could you please let us know the purpose for which you need the complete source > code? This will help us better understand your requirements and determine how we may > be able to assist you. > > Also, could you please provide us with your 3030-PROVer MAX order information? We'd > like to verify the purchase details on our side first. > > Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to your reply. > > Best regards, > > Jamie > SainSmart Customer Support Representative > Power to the Makers No source code was provided. No position was stated on whether the GPLv3 applies. --- ## 3. Reply sent, 2026-08-18 06:02 **From:** J. S. **Subject:** Re: Formal Source Code Request (GPLv3) - Genmitsu 3030-PROVer MAX Firmware > Jamie, > > The GPLv3 does not condition source availability on the recipient's purpose, so that > is not a question I need to answer for the request to stand. I will answer it anyway, > so it cannot be used as a reason to delay: I develop CAM software that generates > 4-axis toolpaths, and I have users running Genmitsu machines. I want the source to > verify how the controller plans and executes motion on the A axis. > > The obligation here does not arise from a purchase. It arises from distribution. > SainSmart publishes this firmware for public download at: > > https://genmitsu.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/101-60-3030PVM/3030_PROVerMAX_Firmware_V3.0.zip > > linked from your own resource page at: > > https://docs.sainsmart.com/article/fov840u38d-3030-prover-max > > That file is served to anyone who requests it. No login, no account, no proof of > purchase. I received it from that URL on 17 August 2026. It is 239,154 bytes, > SHA-256 cb044bc6757d59a1e4ba79f5a99f1967245684eee8c0f1d4ade31aa6f26a7e04, which > matches the x-amz-meta-sha256 value recorded on your own S3 object. It contains > firmware.bin, 119,796 bytes, SHA-256 > 582322cd7bb8ae4c159376330e2731ca1281a35472ea9968558d6091343a911f. There is no > ambiguity about which file is under discussion. > > GPLv3 section 6(d) is explicit. Conveying object code by offering access from a > designated place requires offering equivalent access to the Corresponding Source in > the same way, through the same place, at no further charge. Publishing that download > is the act that creates the obligation. Receiving it is what makes someone a > recipient entitled to the source. > > That the GPLv3 applies is not my characterisation. It is what the binary says about > itself. firmware.bin contains the GRBL startup banner "Grbl 1.1f ['$' for help]", > along with "Grbl for ARM32", "GRBL Controller V2" and the version string "[VER:ARM32 > V3.0.20230816:". It implements GRBL's status and error protocol, including [HLP:, > [OPT:, |MPos:, |WPos:, ALARM: and error:. GRBL is licensed under the GPLv3. The image > contains no licence notice, no copyright notice and no written offer of source > anywhere in its 119,796 bytes. > > What is requested is the Corresponding Source as the GPLv3 defines it: the source > needed to generate, install and run this object code and to modify it, including the > build scripts and configuration, and specifically the multi-axis and 4th axis > configuration for the A axis. This request covers the published V3.0 release. The > same obligation applies to every other version SainSmart distributes, including > V3.2.20240823. > > On the possibility that the answer is no. The obligation runs to everyone who > received the binary, not to me specifically. Declining this request does not settle > anything. It leaves the obligation outstanding as to every person who has downloaded > that file, and it will be raised again by someone else. > > I am not in a position to enforce the licence and I am not claiming otherwise. The > parties who are in that position are the GRBL copyright holders, and organisations > such as the Software Freedom Conservancy and the Free Software Foundation exist to > assist them with precisely this. If SainSmart declines to make the Corresponding > Source available, referring the matter to them is the next step. > > Tell me where the source can be obtained, or state SainSmart's position. If that > position is that this firmware is not a GRBL derivative and the GPLv3 does not apply, > say so plainly and in writing, because it is not what the binary says about itself. > > Jason > myemail937@gmail.com --- ## 4. Awaiting response As of this writing SainSmart has not provided source, has not identified where source may be obtained, and has not stated a position on whether the GPLv3 applies. This page will be updated when they reply.