[free-sklyarov] [Fwd: German cops reportedly raid PDF pirate for copyrightinfringement]

[Seth Johnson]

(Forwarded from POLITECH list)

-------- Original Message --------
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 01:31:29 -0400
From: Declan McCullagh <declan at well.com>

[Probably if the same (alleged) act were to take place in the U.S., the 
same raid would happen. Nothing to do with the DMCA or the SSSCA. The
U.S. 
law in question, assuming the raidee wasn't selling PDFs, is the 1997
NET 
Act, which made not-for-profit copyright infringements a crime. Share 
software with your friends or family and go to prison if you get caught.
I 
invite Springer to reply. --Declan]

*********

From: Tom <tom at lemuria.org>
Subject: [free-sklyarov] more PDF arrests ?
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 13:13:22 +0200
User-Agent: Mutt/1.2.5i

this just in on a german newssite:

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/jes-10.09.01-000/

for those not speaking german, a short summary:

someone in munich was raided by 5 cops, PC and peripherals taken,
because he allegedly posted a "cracked" (reference to elcomsoft)
copyrighted .pdf file on his webpage.

the search order explicitly mentions "hacker software for pdf cracking".

*********

From: Kurt Foss <kfoss at planetpdf.com>
Subject: [free-sklyarov] FYI> Computer seized in alleged PDF eBook crack
To: free-sklyarov at zork.net
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 10:17:39 -0500

Based on accusations of copyright infringement involving an allegedly
cracked PDF version of a recently released book, police in Munich,
Germany have reportedly seized the computer and peripheral equipment of
a Web site owner. Purchase of the book apparently included a CD-ROM of
the contents; according to reports, the protected PDF's security
permissions were removed using software from ElcomSoft Co. Ltd -- but
not the same controversial application which led to recent indictments
for ElcomSoft and employee Dmitry Sklyarov on violations of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

http://www.planetebook.com/mainpage.asp?webpageid=231

*********

[Following is what Babelfish makes of the heise.de article. --DBM]

House search because of gecrackter PDF file (update)

The public prosecutor's office Munich let seize the computer system of
an  Website operator, because it is to have still offered a in
copyright  matters protected and PDF file gecrackte in addition.
According to  specification of the concerning at least five officials
penetrated into his  dwelling and carried one PC with monitor as well as
two scanners and some  diskettes forward. In that heise on-line
available search resolution of the  district court running is called it
that in particular for data carriering  with the PDF data as well as, so
literally, " Heckersoftware is looked up  for decoding PDF
Verschluesselungsprogrammen ".

With the corpus Delicti concerns it a PDF file, which is attached to CD
on  the " manual of the printed media ". The Website operator said
heise  on-line, the public prosecutor's office accuses to him now the
file with  the help of the software " Advanced pdf Recovery " the
Russian company  ElcomSoft to have gecrackt. This software, which can be
downloaded in a  demo version free of charge, decodes Adobe Acrobat PDF
files, which are  provided with an owner password, in order it against
modifications,  supplements, printing, extracting text or pictures to
protect. One the  programmer von ElcomSoft is located at present in the
USA before court,  because he is to have cracked the protection of
another Adobe program.

In the search resolution, which obviously decreases/goes back to a
charge  of the scientific Springer publishing house, an offence against
copyright  is accused to suspecting. Usually in such cases on the civil
way a  requirement for omission is interspersed. The director/conductor
of the  responsible residents of Munich public prosecutor, Dr. Hubert
full man,  acknowledged opposite heise on-line that in the course of a
preliminary  investigation a house search was executed. The analysis of
the seized  evidence would take about six weeks. Only then is to be
counted on results.  On the uncommon methodology during a copyright
infringement addressed, full  man said: " a proportionateness is given
already alone, because a judge,  who enjoys judicial independence,
signed the resolution. " If he did not  want to give closer
specification to the procedure and the looked up  evidence, it stressed
however that he could not be come the search  resolution (the heise
on-line is present) for with one hour of preparation  time the set
discussion ( jes / c't)

*********

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