Can you still remember the copyright case against Russian software engineers who cracked the protection on Adobe Systems' e-books? No? In short the Moscow-based ElcomSoft was charged in federal court of violating the 1998 U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act by selling a program that circumvents the digital copyright protections on Adobe Systems software.
ElcomSoft's program, which sold online for about a month in mid-2001 for $99 before Adobe complained, allowed users to make copies of electronic books, transfer them to laptops and have the computer read them aloud to the blind. Today, thanks to Sgams and Reverend J for their tip, we can find the verdict in this case on the Reuters website.
The two-week trial in San Jose, California was the first criminal prosecution under the controversial DMCA, which prohibits the sale of technology used to break the digital locks on digitally formatted movies, music and other software. The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for about two days before reaching the verdict on Tuesday. The trial had hinged on whether ElcomSoft had "willfully" violated the U.S. law, lawyers for the defense said. |
"They never intended to violate the law," said defense attorney Joseph Burton of the San Francisco law firm of Duane Morris.
"We accept the jury's verdict," Kevin Ryan, U.S. Attorney for Northern California, said in a statement. "While disappointed, we are also pleased that the judge upheld the constitutionality of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the jurisdiction of the United States to bring these cases."
Read the complete article here.
Source: Reuters
