Skylarov, who lives in the US, wrote a program for his
Moscow-based software company which enables users of Adobe Systems’
eBook Reader software to break certain copyright protections
intended to protect authors and their publishers.
As a result, Skylarov and his employers ElComSoft, were charged
with breaches of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Skylarov’s indictment is the first of its kind under the DMCA. In
what is seen as an important test case of the controversial law,
Skylarov, if found guilty, faces a $250,000 fine and up to 5 years
in prison. It is thought unlikely that action will proceed against
his employers because the company does not have a physical presence
in the US (although it sold the software on-line) and the software
is legal under Russian law.
Critics say that Skylarov’s actions represented nothing more
than his exercise of free speech and the right to undertake
legitimate computer research. The Campaign for Digital Rights says
of his program: “at the very worst, [it] is nothing more than a
digital crowbar, with perfectly legitimate uses.” Notably, Adobe
Systems, which first filed the complaint with the FBI, has also
called for the charges to be dropped.
The Campaign for Digital Rights is also calling for changes to
the European Copyright Directive which presently reflects certain
provisions of the DMCA, forbidding the circumvention of copy
protection mechanisms. The Directive will not be in force for more
than one year.
The UK protests will take place outside the US Embassy in London
at 1.30pm on Thursday and on Princes Street in Edinburgh. Other
protests will take place the same day in Moscow, Boston, San
Francisco and Los Angeles.
