Re: OT: Dmitry Sklyarov detention/arrest

[jeremy@xxxxxxxxx (Jeremy H. Griffith)]

On Wed, 18 Jul 2001 11:03:09 -0400, enunn@documentation.com (Erich Nunn) 
wrote:

>A fairly informative article from Reuters is here:
>
>http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010717/ts/tech_hacker_arrest_dc_1.html
>
>It touches on the technical and legal issues involved, and contains a
>statement from Adobe on the matter.

Today's Infoworld article is here:

http://iwsun4.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/01/07/18/010718hndefcon.xml?0719tham

I found this quote from a well-respected academic quite interesting:

 The case is significant not only because it provides a potential 
 test case for the DMCA but also because it involves the first 
 prosecution of an individual under the DMCA, said Jennifer Granick, 
 clinical director of the Stanford University Center for Internet 
 and Society, who has been critical of the legislation.

 This provision of the law [the anti-trafficking provision of the DMCA]
 is different from all other kinds of law we've had before. This isn't
 about copyright infringement," she said. Rather, it renders programs
 that can have other, legitimate purposes illegal, she said.

 The law in effect narrows the scope of how Fair Use and First Sale are 
 defined, and may have other negative effects as well, according to Granick.
 "I'm afraid we're going to see more researchers afraid to come to the 
 United States" for fear of prosecution under the DMCA, she said. "What
 this guy did was completely legal where he was [in Russia]." Besides
 being new, the statute is a complex one, and it is possible Sklyarov
 did not realize that he may have acted in violation of U.S. law, she said.

So *this* is all about Fair Use...  In light of this, we are forced
to reconsider eBook[TM] support... for several different reasons...

-- Jeremy H. Griffith, at Omni Systems Inc.
  (jeremy@omsys.com)  http://www.omsys.com/

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