[free-sklyarov] What did he do IN THE US that was 'wrong'?

Klepht klepht at eleutheria.org
Sat Jul 28 19:08:51 PDT 2001


So, one thing to think about, when considering this case, is that it's
quite possible that by the letter of the law, Dmitry did something
illegal.

That is why we think this law is _wrong_. We don't want this law
enforced, and if we can get it repealed, we want it repealed.

Laws are not written in stone*. They are proposed, they are amended,
they are subtly changed and nuanced by precedence in the courts. They
can be repealed, overturned, obsoleted or merely forgotten.

Saying "what Dmitry did was not illegal" goes down a big rathole that
very few people around here are going to be able to argue about
well. Saying, "Dmitry's work was in a legal tradition of academic
freedom, freedom of expression, and fair use," seems to me to be more
accurate and less in dispute.

Personally, I'd like to see the DMCA overturned or repealed. But I'd
also be happy one day to be reading the trivia section of a newspaper
that says, "In the USA, it's technically illegal to write certain
kinds of code or talk about certain kinds of security." And getting a
good chuckle out of it, because it's just one of those ridiculous old
laws that don't matter any more, but somehow never got struck from the
books.

By getting Adobe to drop its complaint, and getting the US Attorney to
drop the charges, we can raise the bar on enforcement of the unfair
and unjust DMCA. If we do this, we move it one step closer to the
dustbin of legal history.

So let's.

~Klepht

* Or, rather, they haven't been for a couple thousand years, except
  decoratively.

-- 
klepht at eleutheria.org
http://www.eleutheria.org/





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