In December 2012, Defense Distributed posted certain three-dimensional ("3D") printing files on its website, DEFCAD.org, for a number of firearm-related items, including "Ghost Gunner" files, and certain CAD files (the "Published Files"). Some of the Published Files included downloadable instructions to produce a fully functional firearm on a 3D printer. In May 2013, Defense Distributed received a letter from the U.S. Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), directing the company remove the Published Files from its website. DDTC is the federal agency responsible for compliance and enforcement of the Arms Export Control Act (22 USC 2778) and the implementing regulations known as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), published in 22 C.F.R. Pts. 120-130. In its letter, DDTC explained the Published Files may constitute ITAR-controlled "technical data" related to firearms and if so, the act of making the Published Files widely available on the Internet constituted an export of technical data without the required prior authorization from DDTC.

 

For those unfamiliar with the ITAR, controlled "technical data" includes information required for the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance or modification of "defense articles," and includes information in the form of blueprints, drawings, photographs, plans, instructions or documentation (ITAR section 120.10). Currently, almost all firearms up to and including .50, as well as parts, components, attachments and accessories for said firearms are captured by the ITAR's U.S. Munitions List (USML) under Category I. The only exceptions to this broad coverage are so-called "noncombat shotguns" with barrels 18 inches or longer, BB, pellet, and muzzle loading firearms, as well as attachments or accessories that do not enhance the usefulness, effectiveness, or capabilities of the firearm, component and parts. Such items are controlled under the Department of Commerce export controls, known as the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

 

DDTC explained in its letter to Defense Distributed, "[p]ursuant to 127.1 of the ITAR, it is unlawful to export any defense article or technical data for which a license or written approval is required without first obtaining the required authorization from the DDTC. Please note that disclosing (including oral or visual disclosure) or transferring technical data to a foreign person, whether in the United States or abroad, is considered an export under 120.17 of the ITAR."  To resolve the matter "officially," DDTC requested Defense Distributed submit a Commodity Jurisdiction (CJ) request for the following data files:  

A copy of the DDTC letter is available in a  2013 Forbes article (last visited on Jul. 18, 2018).

 

In compliance with the DDTC letter, Defense Distributed removed the Published Files from its website and in June 2013, submitted a CJ request. Almost two years later, with no response to the CJ request and an unsuccessful attempt to obtain public release approval from the Department of Defense Office of Prepublication Review and Security for the subject files, Defense Distributed along with the Second Amendment Foundation ("SAF"), sued DDTC in the Western District of Texas, alleging the ITAR prior approval requirement for posting technical data on the Internet was an unconstitutional prior restraint on protected First Amendment speech, along with other constitutional violations under the Second and Fifth Amendments.

 

While the case was pending, the Plaintiffs filed a motion with the court seeking a preliminary injunction against DDTC, wherein the court would suspend enforcement of the ITAR prepublication approval requirement pending final resolution of the underlying case. The District Court denied the motion, holding the national security interests of the United States outweighed the potential harm to Defense Distributed. Defense Distributed and SAF appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which affirmed the District Court decision, noting, however, that its decision was limited and did not address the merits:

 

"This case presents a number of novel legal questions, including whether the 3D printing and/or CNC milling files at issue here may constitute protected speech under the First Amendment, the level of scrutiny applicable to the statutory and regulatory scheme here, whether posting files online for unrestricted download may constitute "export," and whether ITAR regulations establish an impermissible prior restraint scheme. These are difficult questions, and we take no position on the ultimate outcome other than to agree with the district court that it is not yet time to address the merits. On remand, the district court will eventually have to address the merits, and it will be able to do so with the benefit of a more fully developed record." Defense Distributed v. U.S. Department of State, 838 F.3d 451, 464 (5th Cir. 2016).

 

In the Settlement Agreement, the parties agree to resolve all issues, including any issues "that could have been asserted" by Defense Distributed without further litigation, and without any admission of liability on either side. The Settlement Agreement goes on to stipulate in Paragraph 4 that it shall not be construed as an admission by DDTC of the veracity or validity of any of Defense Distributed's allegations. Further, the Settlement Agreement does not hold any precedent, as the parties are explicitly prohibited from using it as evidence and from referring to the Settlement Agreement in any way in proceedings that may be needed to enforce it.

 

1. DDTC's commitment to draft and fully pursue, to the extent authorized by law, a proposed and final rule revising U.S. Munitions List (USML) Category I to exclude "the technical data that is the subject of the Action." (Settlement Ag., para. 1(a)).

It should be noted that by the time the Settlement Agreement was signed on June 29, 2018, DDTC had already published more than a month prior in 83 Fed. Reg. 24198 (May 24, 2018) its proposed rule to transition most firearms and ammunition, along with certain parts, components, attachments, and accessories, away from ITAR controls over to EAR controls. For more information on the State and Commerce companion proposed rules, please refer to our alerts of June 1, 8, and 13 .

2. While the above-referenced final rule is in development, DDTC will publish on its website at  https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/ an announcement by July 27, 2018, of a temporary modification, consistent with ITAR section 126.2, to exclude "the technical data that is the subject of the Action." (Settlement Ag., para. 1(b)). 

Section 126.2 permits the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Trade Controls to order the temporary suspension or modification of any or all regulations in the ITAR in the interest of the security and foreign policy of the United States.

3. DDTC will issue a letter a letter to Defense Distributed by July 27, 2018, advising that the Published Files are approved for public release in any form and are exempt from export licensing requirements of the ITAR because the files satisfy the criteria of ITAR section 125.4(b)(13). (Settlement Ag., para. 1(c)).

Section 125.4 in the ITAR lists various exports of technical data that do not require approval from DDTC. Paragraph (b)(13), cited in this particular consideration, covers "[t]echnical data approved for public release (i.e. unlimited distribution) by the cognizant U.S. Government department or agency or Office of Freedom of Information and Security Review. This exemption is applicable to information approved by the cognizant U.S. Government department or agency for public release in any form. It does not require that the information be published in order to qualify for the exemption."

4. DDTC acknowledges and agrees that the temporary modification of USML Category I [per Consideration #2 above] permits any U.S. person, including Defense Distributed customers and SAF members, to access, discuss, use, reproduce, or otherwise benefit from the "technical data that is the subject of the Action."... (Settlement Ag., para. 1(d)).

5. Payment of $39,581.00 to Plaintiffs. "This figure is inclusive of any interest and is the only payment that will be made to Plaintiffs or their counsel by Defendants under this Settlement Agreement." (Settlement Ag., para. 1(e)).

What impact will the Settlement Agreement have on industry, if any? Strikingly, the Settlement Agreement does very little to advance the argument that the ITAR's prior restraints on publication are a violation of the First Amendment or any other constitutional rights. Indeed, as the Settlement Agreement makes very clear, the parties stipulate that DDTC's entering into the agreement is in no way an acknowledgment of the validity or veracity of those arguments. Further, all conditions are silent on the constitutional rights issues raised in the case - the Settlement Agreement addresses only the manner in which DDTC will authorize Defense Distributed to release just the Published Files, nothing more.

While DDTC agreed to "draft and fully pursue" the proposed rulemaking to revise USML Category I, in the interim, the temporary amendment to USML Category I will exclude ONLY the "technical data that is subject of the Action." The "technical data that is subject of the Action" is not a limitless bucket containing all ITAR-controlled technical data pertaining to firearms. Rather, the Settlement Agreement defines the words, "technical data that is subject of the Action" specifically to mean only the following: "(1) the Published Files; (2) the Ghost Gunner files; (3) the CAD Files; and (4) the Other Files insofar as those files regard items exclusively: (a) in Category I(a) of the [USML], as well as barrels and receivers covered by Category I(g) of the USML that are components of such items, or (b) items covered by Category I(h) of the USML solely by reference to Category I(a), excluding Military Equipment [as defined in the Settlement Agreement]."

DDTC did not agree to amend the USML to exclude all similar technical data or related hardware, or make any other revisions to Category I, much less any other USML Category. In fact, DDTC agreed to revise the USML Category I "to the extent authorized by law (including the Administrative procedures Act)" to exclude only "technical data that is subject of the action." A cynic could say that's quite a caveat.

It is also important to note that nowhere in the Settlement Agreement does DDTC indicate the Published Files are not considered ITAR-controlled technical data. In fact, the agreement to utilize the powers of § 126.2 to exclude the Published Files from the ITAR by using the §125.4(b)(13) public release process clearly supports the argument that DDTC still considers the files to be technical data. If the information was not technical data, then there would be no need to go through these regulatory hoops to authorize its release. Simply put, DDTC did not ever move from its position that the Published Files were technical data, and the Settlement Agreement does more to underscore this position than to prove otherwise.

This, coupled with the clear language of the Settlement Agreement that this document cannot be used as precedent in further cases, means the release from ITAR controls applies only to the "technical data that is subject of the Action," as defined in the Settlement Agreement. Other individuals or companies with similar Technical Data should not rely on the fact that Defense Distributed was authorized to release the Published Files as a blanket permission to do the same. To be sure, it seems one must still seek authorization from DDTC or public release approval from another cognizant U.S. Government agency before publishing similar Technical Data to the Internet.