Russian firm acquitted in first test of digital copyright law
By The Associated Press
12.18.02
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Federal prosecutors have lost the first case brought to trial under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a law many in the technology industry consider overly restrictive.
A federal jury acquitted a Russian software firm yesterday of violating the digital copyright law by creating a program that cracks the security features of electronic book software made by Adobe Systems.
If convicted, Elcomsoft could have been fined $2 million, with additional penalties if willful intent was determined. "We believed in this verdict from the beginning," said Alex Katalov, Elcomsoft's president.
Adobe said in a statement it was disappointed with the decision and still believed Elcomsoft violated digital copyright law by "selling a tool designed to hack the Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader."
Prosecutors tried to prove the software encouraged piracy by allowing owners to print, copy or distribute copyright material. Scott Frewing told jurors the Russians "were selling a burglar tool for software to make a profit." The program is no longer being sold.
Frewing said yesterday only that the government respects the jury's decision.
The defense argued the program merely enabled owners of Adobe eBook Reader software to make copies for personal use. Making backup copies or transferring to another device, they argued, is permitted under the "fair use" concept of copyright law.
Jury foreman Dennis Strader said the argument made a big impact on jurors. "Under the eBook formats, you have no rights at all, and the jury had trouble with that concept," he said.
Civil libertarians say the digital copyright act stifles computer research and gives publishers, record companies and movie studios too tight a grip on online content.
"They built a tool," said Fred von Lohmann, senior intellectual property attorney for San Francisco's Electronic Frontier Foundation. "And sure, that tool could be misused by some people, but nobody alleged they themselves committed any infringement."
Defense attorney Joe Burton said the government failed to prove Elcomsoft violated the law, but predicted more prosecutions.
He said he didn't see the verdict as "throwing a blanket on" the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. "It will take another case to test that," he said.
Elcomsoft makes a variety of decryption programs for clients that include Fortune 500 companies and federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, IRS and the Department of Justice itself.