[free-sklyarov] press coverage

[Alexander Moskalyuk]

Here's the latest from The Standard's Media Grok, a 
wrap-up of several stories.
___________________________________
Adobe Says, 'Let the Man Go Free' 

Suddenly, Adobe wants to be Dmitry Sklyarov's buddy. 
He's the Russian
programmer who got thrown in jail last week for 
writing software that
breaks the encryption on Adobe's eBook format. 
While "free Dmitry"
became a rallying cry, and BoycottAdobe.com racked up 
Web hits, Adobe
met with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). 
Both parties
emerged with a smile and a PR coup, but no "get out of 
jail free"
card.

"In a stunning turn of events, Adobe abruptly bowed to 
public outcry
and recommended the release of a Russian programmer 
who was arrested
for writing code-breaking software," wrote Wired News' 
Declan
McCullagh. That's "partly because the program he wrote 
that prompted
the criminal complaint was no longer being sold by his 
employer," said
Reuters. The disputed software "is no longer available 
in the United
States, and from that perspective the DMCA worked," 
said Adobe in a
statement, referring to the controversial Digital 
Millennium Copyright
Act that got Sklyarov busted. So don't make Adobe an 
honorary member
of the EFF just yet.

The Register broke ranks with the anti-Adobe front to 
swipe at the
EFF, too. "We look forward to working together with 
Adobe to secure
Dmitry's immediate release," said the EFF's executive 
director. That's
"subtly taking credit for what the company, 
undoubtedly, had fervently
longed to do from the minute the story blew up in its 
face," wrote The
Reg's Thomas C. Greene.

BoycottAdobe.com declared, "This is a great day for 
democracy," but it
was still a bad day for Dmitry Sklyarov. "Adobe is not 
a party to the
case," said the San Francisco U.S. attorney's office, 
and the company
can't call off prosecution (even if it got the 
government involved in
the first place). "One Justice Department lawyer 
familiar with the
case said it's common for the feds to prosecute 
someone even if a
private party is no longer angry," said Wired. The EFF 
was more
optimistic, saying, "It makes little sense for 
taxpayers to be funding
this when even the original plaintiffs are calling for 
his release."
Not quite, since the plaintiff has always been "United 
States of
America."

The legal eagles in San Francisco who actually control 
the case won't
discuss their plans. So, to San Jose activists who are 
disappointed
that the EFF canceled Monday's anti-Adobe protest, try 
taking your
"Free Dmitry" signs about 50 miles north. - Jen 
Muehlbauer

Release the Russian, Adobe Says
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,45489,00.html
	

Sklyarov Release in Fed's Hands
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,45484,00.html

Adobe backtracks, seeks release of Russian programmer 
(Reuters)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/009903.h
tm

Adobe: Free the Russian programmer
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6651535.html

Adobe Folds!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/20579.html

Adobe Withdraws Support For Russian Programmer 
Prosecution
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/168248.html

We Win!
http://www.boycottadobe.com/
___________________________________________




С уважением,
Александр Москалюк
http://www.moskalyuk.com/
ICQ 44065387