[free-sklyarov] Max Cleland (GA) response to Sklyarov case

[mickey]

Below is the text of a letter that I received from my state senator...

mickeym
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    Thank you for contacting me regarding the arrest of Russian
programmer
Dmitry Skylarov and his employer Elcom Ltd.  I appreciate hearing from
you on
this matter.

    As you know, the patent and copyright system is established by
Article I,
Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution: "Congress Shall
Have the
Power . . . To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for
limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective
Writings and Discoveries . . . "  This clause allows an inventor or
creator to
temporarily exclude others from the use of their information without
compensation, and it places information associated with an invention in
the
public domain.  Congress has passed legislation such as the Digital
Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA) to enforce copyrights in the new digital era.

    Mr. Skylarov and Elcom were both indicted by a Federal grand jury on
August
28, 2001.  The defendants were each indicted on one count of conspiracy
to
traffic in technology primarily designed to circumvent, and marketed for
use in
circumventing, technology that protects a right of a copyright owner,
two counts
of trafficking in technology primarily designed to circumvent technology
that
protects a right of a copyright owner and two counts of trafficking in
technology marketed for use in circumventing technology that protects a
right of
a copyright owner.  According to the Department of Justice (DOJ) these
are the
first indictments under the DMCA.  The act requires the government to
prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant offered to the public,
provided or
trafficked in technology that was primarily designed to circumvent
copyright
protections, or was marketed for use in circumventing copyright
protections.
The statute provides penalties when the copyright violations are
perpetrated for
commercial advantage or private financial gain.  In addition, certain
exceptions
exist to the DMCA for non profit libraries, archives and educational
institutions.

    In this case the indictment alleges that Mr. Skylarov wrote a
program, the
Advanced eBook Processor (AEBPR), for the primary purpose of removing
any and
all limitations on an ebook purchaser's ability to copy, distribute,
print, have
the text read audibly by the computer or any other limitation imposed by
the
publisher or distributor of the ebook.  Secondly, the indictment alleges
that
Elcom made the program available for sale over a web site hosted in
Chicago, by
which individuals could download a copy of the program.

    The Adobe eBook Reader program is sold by a publisher or distributor
to
individuals who wish to read an ebook on their computer.  The publisher
or
distributor of the ebook can limit a purchaser's ability to copy,
distribute,
print or have the text read audibly by the computer.  This program
enables
copyright holders to manage the distribution of an ebook by purchasers.

    Mr. Skylarov has been released on bail and could face a prison term
up to
five years.  Please be assured that I will continue to monitor this
groundbreaking trial and will certainly consider changes to the DMCA if
it does
not work effectively or as intended.  Again, thank you for contacting
me.  It
was good to hear from you.

                        Most respectfully,



                        Max Cleland
                        United States Senator

MC:mdp
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