The DMCA is to thank for the arrest of Dmitry Sklyarov, a
Russian programmer who violated its provisions by developing
software that decodes e-books. According to this article, community
protest is well underway, specifically targeted at Adobe, which has
a history with Mr. Skylarov where his software is concerned:
"Dmitry Sklyarov, a lead programmer for Russian
software company ElcomSoft, was arrested Monday morning for
distributing the company's Advanced eBook Processor.
This high-visibility prosecution under the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act seems to have focused the kind of anger not seen
since the days of the 1996 Communications Decency Act or the Secret
Service raid of Steve Jackson Games -- two defining moments in the
development of civil liberties online.
From the federal government's point of view, it's merely
enforcing a law enacted by Congress in October 1998 that punishes
anyone who distributes "any technology, product, service, device,
component or part" that, like Sklyarov's software, bypasses
copy-protection mechanisms. Sklyarov is facing a five-year prison
term and a fine of $500,000."
