[free-sklyarov] Minnesota Protesters Announce Lecture Series

[nobody]

Below is our press release. Please also read our request for donations--we
want to advertise this lecture series both to ensure a good audience for
our speakers and to encourage organizers in other cities to pursue similar
high-profile events to foster public debate.

http://www.underwhelm.org/plea.html
http://www.underwhelm.org/lectures.html
Thanks!

Chris Moseng
Free Dmitry.
Repeal the DMCA.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DMCA-minnesota/

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 17, 2001

For information contact:
freedima at underwhelm.org
Chris Moseng - 651-353-1513

CITIZEN GROUP TO INFORM COMMUNITY OF DIGITAL COPYRIGHT
ISSUES -- Group seeks to repeal DMCA, free Dmitry Sklyarov, protect fair
use rights and academic freedom from corporate lobbyists

MINNEAPOLIS -- In response to the arrest this summer of Dmitry Sklyarov, a
Russian programmer accused of violating the Digital Millenium Copyright
Act, (DMCA) a draconian new copyright law, concerned citizens calling
themselves "Minnesotans for Fair Copyright" will meet on Monday to
announce a lecture series intended to foster community debate about
copyright and intellectual property law.

"Copyright is frequently called a delicate balance," says Chris Moseng, a
member of Minnesotans for Fair Copyright, "a balance between the first
amendment and the copyright clause in the constitution. Since the DMCA was
passed in 1998, the balance is no longer delicate. The DMCA placed a lead
weight on the side of private industry, destroying the balance that had
been carefully crafted by the judicial system over decades."

The DMCA was and remains strongly supported by corporate lobbyists from
companies like Disney, Universal Studios and Microsoft. Computer
programmers, professors, scientists and students, however, are critical of
the law.

The group's top priority will be to secure the release of Russian citizen
Dmitry Sklyarov. He wrote an algorithm for the "Advanced eBook
Processor," a tool for converting Adobe's eBook copy-protection format
into the more convenient and portable PDF format. The program is legal in
Russia, where the product was developed. But Mr. Sklyarov was arrested
when he came to the United States to speak at conference about the flaws
in the eBook copy-protection system. He faces up to five years in prison
and tens of thousands of dollars in fines under the DMCA.

"The irony of this man being imprisoned in the United States and longing
to return to once-Communist Russia so he can regain his right to free
speech is simply staggering." said Paul Cantrell, a St. Paul software
developer.

In response to Mr. Sklyarov's arrest and prosecution, the group plans to
sponsor a series of lectures by prominent experts in the fields of law,
cryptography, and rhetoric to help the public understand the implications
of the DMCA and the challenges digital technology present to policy makers
as they update copyright law for a new century.

The group also seeks the repeal of the DMCA and will explore related
issues such as the Napster controversy, conflicts over DVD encryption and
music watermarking and the related issues of free speech, academic
freedom, and fair use.

The announcement will take place on Monday September 17 at 6:30 in room
3-111 of the Computer Science and Engineering building of the University
of Minnesota Minneapolis campus. It is open to the public. More
information and lecture series updates can be found at the group's
website, at http://www.underwhelm.org.

October 4:  Dan Burk of the University of Minnesota's Law School
October 18: John Logie of the University of Minnesota's Department of
Rhetoric
October 31: Bruce Schneier of Counterpane Internet Security, author of
Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World