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Adobe Backs Down
bruthasj writes "Adobe is going to pull out of prosecuting Dmitry, according to this." I'm glad to see that justice was served after screwing this guy over. Of course the real point was made: "We have the power. Don't reverse engineer our toys" since the guy is still in Jail, and this is "The United States Vs" and not "Adobe Vs".
The Register has a bad habit of posting otherwise excellent stories with what appear to be mistakes caused by typing them fast and not proofreading, but if I understand this story correctly it seems that the software developed by Dmitry Sklyarov's employer, for the sale of which he was arrested, is designed to let sight-empaired people use eBooks that they have already paid for.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
Although this is a great victory, and it shows what we can do when we get organized and unified...
1. Dmitry is still in jail.
2. The DMCA is still on the books.
3. The EFF still needs your help.
Let's keep this momentum going!
We must make an example of Adobe. We should continue to boycott Adobe, the music industry and every company that supported the DMCA until they make an about face and the DMCA is repealed. Otherwise we loose.
Dmitry Sklyarov is still in jail, DMCA is still the law, and Adobe is still a supporter of the DMCA, and the cause of Dmitry being in jail and kept from his family. I see no reason to call off the boycott, I see every reason to continue with the protest [and more]. The shame of this (DMCA) is not a stain that the Chef's will quietly carry back to the kitchen, we must make the public understand what is being stolen. We must make business and government understand that the paying customers will not tolerate poor service. Piracy for profit is wrong, evil, and worthy of criminal complaint. Knowledge, tools, and fair use are not. I do not blame the FBI, the action was initiated on the complaint that a law was violated (law right, or law wrong? the courts decide that part, not the police). I really believe that Adobe didn't think that hackles would be raised this loud this fast. BTW has anyone else noticed how the mainstream press has ignored this case?
If you feel strongly about what they're doing (as I do), then join or make a donation (I did).
There's no need for Dmitri or anyone else to rot in jail while the legal maneuvering continues. We don't need to martyr anyone (esp. not foreign nationals) - we need the law overturned.
-Renard
30 cents says he won't grant rights for an E-Book.
I really would have liked to have seen this go to court. While I feel for Dmitry's family, I think that his case could have been used to overturn the DMCA. (Imagine the headline: Russian tried for giving illegal speech according to Adobe).
While this still may go to trial at the US government level, it seems it won't have as much affect on making citizens realize what is happening.
Doh!
And in regards to #1, Adobe still succeeded, probably more adroitly than the EFF expected:
1. While they look like the "nice guys", the person that Adobe wanted punished is still being punished, and Adobe can wash its hands, say "what nice people we are", and walk off almost untouched by all of this.
2. Adobe proved that EFF has no teeth and can be made to back down at the drop of a hat. note to EFF organizing staff: when involved in hostage negotiations, NEVER grant concessions. The Sklyarov incident is a hostage negotiation- he is a foreign national kidnapped at the behest of Adobe by the US Govt., under the guise of enforcing a bad law. Now that Adobe let themselves off the hook and has walked scott-free from the negotiating table, who are you going to target now? Strategically, by "calling off the protest", EFF showed that:
a. They have no real control over the protests. Protestors still showed up, and would have shown up, and by "calling off the protest" the EFF only weakened its position. And Skylarov's.
b. Put themselves in a bad negotiating position- either Adobe could have said- you, EFF, are liars, there are still protestors outside; or they could have said- obviously, you aren't representing the protestors, why should we speak with you.
c. Adobe demonstrated their strength by getting EFF to capitulate, and then Adobe walked away from the entire matter. Efforts to organize effective protests both present and in the future was quashed (or damaged by Adobe), and since EFF has been shown not to be holding the right cards, and Adobe has proven to other corporations just exactly how to stand behind the DMCA while covering their own asses to the public.
3. The EFF's position with the feds may be compromised at this point. By declaring themselves to have control over protests, they have made themselves targets for federal investigation, possibly via the RICO Act (but, IANAL, and I hope to god something on that order of damage doesn't happen to EFF...they have my contribution money). However, EFF will have to watch its back even more so from now on...all it takes is one agent provocateur.
4. I didn't misread about Skylarov being in jail still? What the fuck is everyone celebrating for? Is anyone asking his wife if she needs a place to stay, or any money while her husband is in jail? Just kind of curious...I don't see anyone who is actually affected by this incident winning anything here...except maybe Adobe.
mrgoat
'Hail Eris, baby, hail Eris...pfffffffttt.' *cough* 'Yeah.'
The pressure on Adobe applied by the EFF and the community at large of fair-minded technical people has yeiled results. This is proof positive that what we do and think can have an effect. Let's make sure we follow through and see Dmitry aquited, freed and exhonerated.
Let's also not forget that this represents a step in the right direction towards the repeal of the DMCA. The moments after a victory are the most vulnerable moments of any movment. It's very easy to forget about the long-term goals after acomplishing something important. Let's make sure that this success does not distract us from doing what we know is right.
--
In spite of the suggestions and all the tests that I have made, I have not cavato a spider from the hole.
I have to wonder if Adobe backed off because they didn't want the DMCA to be struck down with ease. Drop the case, and then no precedent is set, when a case that is more suited to Adobe, or another company that will strengthen the DMCA will they be so quick to drop it?
You seem to misunderstand the point of this whole exercise. A human being, through no fault of his own, has been imprisoned against his will. The responsibility of all involved isn't just to make a point about how dumb the DMCA is. Their responsibility is to get this guy back to his home and family as quickly as possible. With Adobe backing down from their complaint, it becomes much more likely that he'll be released relatively quickly.
Sklyarov isn't some pawn the EFF can use to make their point about US Constitutional law. He's a human being, and therefore *any* lawyer trying to speak on his behalf on this case should first and foremost be trying to get him released. If a lawyer pretending to represent Sklyarov's interests allows him to remain in jail in order to advance the constitutional part of the argument, that lawyer should be disbarred for malpractice.
In other words, the EFF made the right choice in backing down from their criticism of Adobe once Adobe rescinded their complaint.
There's a time and a place for everything. The DMCA is already getting its day in court with cases that don't directly affect somebody's physical freedom. Hopefully the criminal provisions of the act will either be struck down by those cases or through a case that doesn't remove a working man as the breadwinner of a family. Your suggestion that the EFF should not have allowed Adobe to back down so easily ignores the human element of this case.
Adobe's a member of the BSA.
The BSA has an interesting statement on the DMCA here. This is a response to a Library of Congress rule available here.
Members of the BSA include Adobe, Apple Computer, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, CNC Software/Mastercam, Compaq, Corel Corporation, IBM, Intel, Intuit, Lotus Development, Macromedia, Microsoft, Network Associates, Novell, Sybase, Symantec, and Walker Digital; i.e. most of /.'s favourite hate companies, plus some extras.
These are the guys to line up against. They've been around since the '80s. I suspect that Adobe's lawyers are all BSA stooges. Certainly Adobe's PR department doesn't seem to be toeing the BSA line.
my old sig used to be funny, but then slashcode ate it and now it's not funny anymore
It's a day late and a dollar short. The guys in jail, has no likely date to be released, and would almost certainly have to stay in the US until the trail even if he was released.
So even if Adobe doesn't officially back the charges, they've already given the feds all the data to prosecute him, they'll almost certainly provide witnesses (oh, sure, "we can't ignore a court order") to help put him in prison, and no matter how good his defense is, he's stuck in the US and not at liberty.
The only good thing is that he can now write a book and guarantee a best seller, so he'll have some money eventually. Unless he's convicted, of course, as then the proceeds will be used for more such actions by the feds.
--- Will in Seattle - What are you doing to fight the War?
" So let me get this straight--Adobe worked their connections to get a competing company's employee arrested, and now will pretend to back off now that the competitor has taken their product off the market? This is scary, and the EFF should be ashamed letting themselves be used as a figleaf this way. Sklyarov won't be released anytime soon, and this whole episode basically amounted to a hostage-taking."
This is hostage taking. The DMCA is an immoral, unethical, unjust law, that IS no law at all accoring to my Roman Catholic upbringing. And Adobe became Pilate by them being the DIRECT cause of Dimitry's unjust incarceration. They are FAR from exonerated by making a symbolic statement... The charges still stand, and he's still being held against his will.
"(Yes, Elcomsoft isn't really a competitor to Adobe, except that one use of their product could reduce ebook sales)"
That's my major moral objection to the DMCA... It's basically a law that makes threatening corporate profts a FELONY... It's fortunate there was no DMCA in the time of the "Emperor Has No Clothes" fable, else the shyster "tailor" who made the Emperor's splendid invisible clothes would sue the child for a DMCA violation.
=== The price of freedom is eternal vigilance