Adobe Calls for Release of Russian Programmer

Posted on July 25, 2001

Adobe Systems Incorporated and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have jointly recommended the release of Russian programmer Dmitry Sklyarov from federal custody. Adobe is also withdrawing its support for the criminal complaint against Dmitry Sklyarov. Adobe has received criticism for the arrest of Sklyarov at a hacker convention under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. A boycott and a website were launched as part of the escalating criticism.

``EFF praises Adobe for doing the right thing,'' said Shari Steele, EFF Executive Director. ``We are pleased to see that Adobe has lived up to the high standard of integrity that has made the company successful. While we don't agree on every detail of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), we look forward to working together with Adobe to secure Dmitry's immediate release.''

``We strongly support the DMCA and the enforcement of copyright protection of digital content,'' said Colleen Pouliot, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Adobe. ``However, the prosecution of this individual in this particular case is not conducive to the best interests of any of the parties involved or the industry. ElcomSoft's Advanced eBook Processor software is no longer available in the United States, and from that perspective the DMCA worked. Adobe will continue to protect its copyright interests and those of its customers.''

Sklyarov was arrested July 16 at Defcon, a hacker convention, on a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California under the DMCA. Skylarov worked for ElcomSoft, a Moscow-based company, which created a software program that could crack Adobe's ebook encryption software. The program was sold for $99 to allow consumers to make additional backups of Adobe ebooks they had already purchased for their personal use.