Not surprisingly, that isn't how officials interpret the ruling. Washington state Attorney General and lawsuit overseer Bob Ferguson believed the ruling still made sales illegal, and hoped the federal government would hold Wilson "accountable to that law." Wilson said he was expecting state lawsuits and was raising funds to defend himself against them.

The question is whether or not Wilson is violating the spirit of the law, not just its letter. Both the recent ban and the 2013 restriction stemmed from concerns about distributing 3D-printed gun technology that's both "untraceable and undetectable," as Judge Robert Lasnik put it. That potential security risk doesn't change with the distribution method, and proponents of the ban will likely argue that an emailed copy is just as risky as publishing the info on a public website.