[free-sklyarov] Rocky Mountain IMC post; RMS' DMCA writings

[Paul Walmsley]

The following has just gone out on the Rocky Mountain IMC news wire.
Anyone is free to use or modify it for their own use without restrictions.

I would also commend Richard Stallman's writings on the DMCA.  One is
referenced below; also try the main document index at
<http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html#Laws>.

Best regards to everyone of conscience on this list.  Thank you all for
speaking out for our freedom.


- Paul

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** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ** July 19, 2001

Earlier this week, a Russian graduate student named Dmitry Sklyarov was
arrested after a presentation at a technical conference in Las
Vegas, Nevada.  His presentation concerned the flimsiness of the
anti-fair-use software used in Adobe Systems, Inc.'s electronic book
products.

He was arrested on suspicion of violating the Digital Millenium Copyright
Act, or DMCA, a United States federal law passed in 1998 by the 105th
Congress as H.R. 2281.  The DMCA provides for significant criminal
penalties for anyone distributing information on bypassing
"anti-circumvention devices" on copyrighted material.

This arrest is significant for several reasons.  It's the first test of
the DMCA's criminal provisions.  The FBI arrested a Russian national for
acts supposedly committed in Russia.  And he was arrested shortly after
giving a scientific presentation on a legitimate computer science topic.

On Friday, July 20, 7:30 PM, we'll be meeting at the Boulder Bookstore's
coffeeshop (aka "the Bookend Cafe") at 1115 Pearl St. in Boulder.  If for
some reason we are unable to meet in the cafe itself, we'll be meeting
just outside the cafe on the Pearl Street sidewalk mall.  If you're
outside the Rocky Mountain area, please see the EFF link below for details
on actions in your area.

Join us to help free Dmitry Sklyarov.  Join us if you value your right to
read and share books.  And join us if you value scientists' right to share
information freely at conferences.  All these rights are under significant
attack by e-book publishers and software vendors.

For further information on the meeting, please see
<http://www.cs.unm.edu/~sonjat/protest.html>, or contact Sonja V. Tideman
at <sonjat at cs.unm.edu>.

Also, for further background information on the situation, consider
reading the following links:

A reprint of the complaint and the July 18th New York Times article:
<http://cryptome.org/usa-v-sklyarov.htm>

The Electronic Freedom Foundation's protest information page:
<http://www.eff.org/alerts/20010719_eff_sklyarov_alert.html>

Thoughts about the DMCA:
<http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/freedom-or-copyright.html>

PlanetEbook's index of USA vs. Sklyarov-related stories:
<http://www.planetebook.com/mainpage.asp?webpageid=170>