Sklyarov became the first person to be indicted under the DMCA.
His arrest followed his presentation of a paper at a Las Vegas
conference on 16th July which described, among other things, how to
break the protection in Adobe’s e-book software, an act which is
legal in Russia but illegal in the US under the DMCA. Adobe
attendees notified the law enforcement authorities although the
company subsequently agreed with popular opinion that charges
against him should be dropped. Sklyarov, a 26 year-old PhD student
of computer science, was released on bail but has not been allowed
to leave the US. He will be allowed to return to Russia after
concluding his deposition today.
Sklyarov’s employer, Moscow-based ElcomSoft, sold software
called Advanced eBook Processor which could be used to disable
copy-protected e-books. The deal with the Attorney’s Office
requires Sklyarov to admit that he created the program and that its
sole purpose is to decrypt e-books.
ElcomSoft still faces charges under the DMCA of selling and
conspiring to sell technology in breach of the DMCA. Lawyers for
the company claim that Sklyarov’s testimony could actually
strengthen its defence and say they are confident of acquittal. The
company said it is relieved that charges against Sklyarov have been
dropped.
