Skylarov, who lives in the US, wrote a program for his Moscow-based software company which enables users of Adobe Systems’ eBook Reader software to break certain copyright protections intended to protect authors and their publishers.
As a result, Skylarov and his employers ElComSoft, were charged with breaches of the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Skylarov’s indictment is the first of its kind under the DMCA. In what is seen as an important test case of the controversial law, Skylarov, if found guilty, faces a $250,000 fine and up to 5 years in prison. It is thought unlikely that action will proceed against his employers because the company does not have a physical presence in the US (although it sold the software on-line) and the software is legal under Russian law.
Critics say that Skylarov’s actions represented nothing more than his exercise of free speech and the right to undertake legitimate computer research. The Campaign for Digital Rights says of his program: “at the very worst, [it] is nothing more than a digital crowbar, with perfectly legitimate uses.” Notably, Adobe Systems, which first filed the complaint with the FBI, has also called for the charges to be dropped.
The Campaign for Digital Rights is also calling for changes to the European Copyright Directive which presently reflects certain provisions of the DMCA, forbidding the circumvention of copy protection mechanisms. The Directive will not be in force for more than one year.
The UK protests will take place outside the US Embassy in London at 1.30pm on Thursday and on Princes Street in Edinburgh. Other protests will take place the same day in Moscow, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.