Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

A US programmer claims to have written software that cracks the encryption used to protect the copyrights in e-books compatible with the popular Microsoft Reader software. So far, his program has not been publicly released.

The anti-encryption software removes the restrictions that come with an e-book, such as preventing re-distribution or amendment. If publicly released, the author faces the risk of criminal charges under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is currently being used in a trial against Russian programmer Dmitry Skylarov over software which breaks Adobe e-book security.

The programmer’s claim was published anonymously last Thursday on the web site of MIT Technology Review.

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