Copyright Scenarios

The First Major Test of the DMCA

Dmitry Sklyarov is a computer programmer from Russia who wrote a software program that unlocked Adobe System’s password protected e-books and PDF files. Sklyarov worked for a company called ElcomSoft located in Russia. U.S. v. ElcomSoft is a crucial test of the DMCA. Civil rights advocates and software programmers argue that the DMCA gives copyright owners too much protection at the expense of individuals' rights to legitimate use. ElcomSoft faces $2.25 million in fines. The employee who wrote the program at the heart of the case was released with the promise that charges would be dropped against him in exchange for his testimony. Dmitry Sklyarov, 27, returned home in December 2000 and said he would return to testify in support of his employer. He was arrested in July after presenting his program at the DefCon hacker conference in Las Vegas.

He and Elcomsoft were acquitted of all charges on 12/17/02. See article here.

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