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Dmitry Sklyarov Gains High-Profile Defense Lawyer
Diesel Dave writes: "There's an
article on Law.com about Dmitry Sklyarov's new Lawyer.
Renowned San Francisco defense attorney John Keker has agreed to represent the Russian programmer pro bono. Keker is quoted as saying:
"I think he is being unjustly accused and that's the kind of case I like to do." and "[The Government is] always welcome to dismiss the case, but we didn't come in to make a plea deal." This gives me the impression he has full intensions of fighting this to the end. Good."
Given the current anti-tech rage being promoted in the US media this is a brave decision which should be applauded. While it is quite clear that this is a ridiculous case these are rapidly becomming ridiculous times.
"Ex-Commie tries to undermine US companies" is an all to easy headline to imagine. Its excellent that he has this defence lawyer, that should drive him into freedom, but the fact remains that the Don't Mind Capitulating Act is liable to get stronger rather than weaker... will Bush make this the one case where there isn't a back door to cryptography... probably.
This sort of thing is part of the reason why the US is now in recession, the driving of large corporations at the expense on innovation.
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
It's important that prescident setting cases of this sort are tried by the best available trial atourneys, such that the prescident that will be set can be looked upon as binding, regardless of which way the case goes. I'm suprised that more nationally renowned defense atourneys weren't all over this case from the start. It's nice to have good news in this case once in a while
--CTH
--Got Lists? | Top 95 Star Wars Line
Okay, so we don't kill all the lawyers.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
On a side note, this case has gotten much more attention in international circles than it has in the US.
At my university I've met a woman from Ukraine who claims that for a while, atleast, there was daily coverage of the Skylarov predicament in the Ukrainian newspapers. Much like our terrorist coverage continues to dominate the news here in the land of the home, and the free of the brave.
For a moderately non-technical person, she seemed to have a very good grasp of the issues, albeit with a touch of (IMHO justified) "the US is doing this because they can" spin.
Well, I digress. Congrats, Dmitry. I hope you make it back to Russia before I visit there this winter.
-Peter
. Penguins Surely Ca
"I think he is being unjustly accused and that's the kind of case I like to do."
Tut tut that was an obvious error, what he really said was:
"I think this is a well-known case that I can use to increase my public profile, and therefore my rate of pay for other, subsequent clients, and that's the kind of case I like to do."
Russian Programmer Dmitry Sklyarov Gains High-Profile Defense Lawyer
Substitution adds twist to cyber-cause celèbre
Shannon Lafferty
The Recorder
October 1, 2001
Renowned San Francisco defense attorney John Keker has agreed to represent indicted Russian computer programmer Dmitry Sklyarov on a pro bono basis.
Keker's decision to represent Sklyarov, believed to be one of the first to be criminally charged under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, could put an end to speculation that a plea deal is in the works.
Keker of Keker & Van Nest won't say whether any plea offers are on the table but said he wasn't brought aboard to cut a deal.
"They are always welcome to dismiss the case, but we didn't come in to make a plea deal," Keker said Thursday. "We are here to deal with the defense of the case and to win it."
Sklyarov, 26, is accused of writing a program for his Russian employer ElcomSoft that allows people using Adobe Systems Inc. eBook software to copy and print digital books, transfer them to other computers and have the text read aloud by the computer.
Keker, whose past cases include the prosecution of Lt. Col. Oliver North in the Iran-Contra scandal, said he was approached to take Sklyarov's case but did not elaborate further. Keker said he took the case pro bono because he felt Sklyarov was unfairly targeted.
"I think he is being unjustly accused and that's the kind of case I like to do," Keker said Thursday.
Defense attorney Joseph Burton was initially retained to represent Sklyarov but is withdrawing to represent co-defendant ElcomSoft.
Since Sklyarov was arrested in July at a convention in Las Vegas, programmers and technology companies have publicly criticized the prosecution. The alleged victim, San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems, which initially reported Sklyarov and his Russian employer to the U.S. Attorney's office, has said it no longer supports prosecution.
Both sides are currently conducting discovery. Keker said he and his team will be working "to understand Adobe's role and determine whether or not it's proper."
Colleen Pouliot, Adobe senior vice president and general counsel, did not return calls.
Former prosecutors have said that Adobe's decision to distance itself from the case makes it tougher for the U.S. Attorney's office.
"Unlike traditional crimes, where you have an individual or an institution as the victim, tech crimes enter into a new area because all the government has to rely on is the expertise of the company," said Stephen Freccero, a former prosecutor now with Morrison & Foerster's San Francisco office. "Generally, they are the kinds of cases the government wouldn't even know about if they hadn't been contacted by the victim," Freccero added in a recent interview.
Groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which promotes cyber-rights, have been critical of the prosecution from the start, saying the DMCA wasn't intended to criminalize software like Sklyarov's.
Meanwhile, observers have said Adobe's about-face has put the U.S. Attorney's office in a tough situation. If it drops the charges, the office may seem ill-equipped to handle the high-tech, white-collar crimes it has vowed to go after. If it goes ahead with an unpopular prosecution, it could alienate high-tech companies whose assistance it needs to develop other cases.
Sklyarov, who is out on bail, will appear in San Jose federal court Nov. 26 for a pretrial hearing. If convicted, he could face five years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Not that I find fault with it, but Mr. Keker has just as much to gain from representing Dmitri as Dmitri himself. Keker will gain a great deal of press and attention, whether or not he wins the case. Dmitri on the otherhand, now has a fighting chance at getting off clean from this injustice.
Hopefully, this is the kind of trend we can expect. As the open source and free speech movements (funny you have to think of it in those terms these days - thought we already had that one down) become more and more publicized, we may see more and more lawyers jump into the fray on our behalf for their benefit.
Again, not a bad thing, but we don't want to be misguided into thinking that these lawyers working pro bono support our causes. They just as soon would take a $1M check from Microsoft.
Why bother.
In case you didn't know...
From dictionary.com:
pro bono
adj.
Done without compensation for the public good: a lawyer's pro bono work.
> John Keker has agreed to represent the Russian programmer pro bono
AP - Moscow: In a briew interview with the lead singer of U2, Bono denies allegations with regards to involvement in writing software that is used to break copy protection schemes. Although Bono admits to using similar software to pirate his own music, He believes that he should be able to write whatever code he likes. Bono refused futher requests for an interview.
I really hope that Dmitry Skylarov can go home to Russia soon.
Yes! Go home! Quick, Dmitri, go back to Russia! Your presense here is showing Americans how stupid our legal system is and our people can't possibly remain ignorant for much longer! Shoo! Shoo!
Why bother.
They say this as this is specific to hi-tech crimes. Most property crime, extortion, rapes, battery, assualts, only only known by the government when the victim makes a complaint.
I am suprised that Dmitry didn't bring a lawsuit against Adobe and the government for retaliation under the ADA. He was aiding others in making a reasonable accomodation by breaking the software to allow it to be converted to speech for the blind.
Fight Spammers!
Renowned San Francisco defense attorney John Keker has agreed to represent the Russian programmer pro bono.
Pro Bono? Aren't we supposed to be against the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act?
Will I retire or break 10K?
"I think he is being unjustly accused and that's the kind of case I like to do," Keker said Thursday.
Bravo.
As programmers write code to further the cause of opensource software, we need skilled Lawyers to protect our rights. Its war, and the battle will take place in the courts.
Ashcroft tells it all - Political Cartoons at Political Strikes
It's rare for a law to be overturned because of ambiguity, because an ambiguous law usually has something clearly wrong with it in at least one reasonable interpretation, and thus can be struck down as "overbroad". It happens all the time.
WARNING: there is a trojan on your
The release doesn't mention whether Skylarov will press for damages if acquitted, seeing as he is pitted against the US government. But I think, Keker must file a simultaneous petition to seek damages from Adobe. That should teach them to stop acting like idiots. One moment they are crying foul to mamma, then they see there's nothing in it for them, and then sheepishly wanting to opt out. Show them how the jungle law of the West works, Keker!
is available here. http://www.kvn.com/attyjwk.html
This is very good. With the recent events in NYC further stigmatizing the public's view of technology, Keker taking the case is an excellent move to bring Dimitri's case into proper perspective.
Woot w00t w007.
Not that I find fault with it, but Lethyos has just as much to gain from posting his comment as we readers ourselves. Lethyos will gain a great deal of press and attention, whether or not his comment is highly moderated.
Yada yada yada. What a ridiculous comment! of COURSE both people gain from the deal! What else COULD there be -- Would you feel better if someone were holding a gun to Mr. Keker's head? Or if he had been drafted with the alternative a prison sentence?
And who the heck are you to say this lawyer doesn't support "our" causes? What causes would that be? Your cause? My cause? How about Dmitri's cause? Maybe Mr. Keker supports the cause of stopping Big Brother?
Good gosh, get a new hat -- your head's so swelled up you'll need a custom size.
Infuriate left and right
This would be very satisfying.
On the hand, if they win, the government might not appeal since they would not want to have the DMCA so ruled.
In any case, it would be ironic for the whole thing to be thrown out because it was an action in a foreign land by a foreign national.
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
While I'm very happy for Dmitri Sklyarov, it's rather a sad indictment on the judicial system that having the one of the best lawyers seems to matter so much.
Surely any competent lawyer should be sufficient to point out the facts of the case, and allow a reasonably impartial judge and jury to judge the case accordingly.
Sadly, this doesn't appear to be the case.
And no, this isn't intended just to be an attack on the US justice system. I'm sure other countries are as bad (even if some of our laws aren't as bad in this regard - at least, not yet).
Poor Dmitry,
A foreigner, trying to escape America for Russia and freedom, fighting against an unjust system, being forced to spend all his money on a legal battle that should never have happened.
I wonder how his wife and kid are doing through all this.
"Look at me, I invented the stove!" -- Ben Franklin
Every country has its own laws, and laws of one country are not applicable on what happened inside another country.
- Brits drive on the left, that's legal in UK, but not in France. Will a Brit be arrested, when he visits France, telling everyone that at home he drives on the left? Obviously not.
- In Netherland light drugs are legal, but in Italy not. Will someone from Amsterdam be arrested, when going on holidays to Italy? Obviously not.
- Sklyarov wrote the software while in Russia, he is a Russian citizen, and in Russia it is legal to write this kind of software. Why should USA be allowed to arrest Sklyarov? On what basis?
Does the US legal system really think its laws are "universally" applicable? Is this the US-arrogance, that makes USA so hatred?ms
He'll whip out the Chewbacca Defense and win the case hands down:
"Dear ladies and gentleman of this supposed jury I have one final thing I want you to consider: this is Chewbacca.."
-- The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
Actually, high-profile!= expensive here. John Keker is doing the case "pro bono", i.e. for free.
Sign the Petition to Abolish the DMCA.
Forward it on to people you know who oppose the DMCA.
That would assume that Adobe's ebook software would or could not interface with existing screen-reader software, nor it would/could interface with any speech synth software. Mighty big IF there.
But if you can prove that it doesn't interface, would it be safe to say that the DMCA have a hole or two punched into it the size of a Mack truck?
--
# Canmephians for a better Linux Kernel
$Stalag99{"URL"}="http://stalag99.net";
Funny how it's square-jawed normals like Bruce Willis who play heroes in our movies. People like this, who will stand up for their rights and fight this fascism, are true heroes. There should be heroic movies about THIS sort of thing, with heart-rending patriotic movies and the libertarian hackers getting the chicks at the end. =)
-Kasreyn
Kasreyn: Cheerfully playing the part of Devil's Advocate to hairtrigger
"heart-rending movies"
Meant "music", D'OH! Need to lay off the Dew and post more carefully. =P
-Kasreyn
Kasreyn: Cheerfully playing the part of Devil's Advocate to hairtrigger
Resent your sig do I
http://rareformnewmedia.com/
I suspect this because I believe that the corporations and the government know they got away with one this time and they don't want this law overturned, which it might be by a high court.
They will wait an appropriate amount of time to let Skyarlov know that "they really meant it," slap his wrist, and send him home.
Rich...
Ignore Alien Orders
While it's a very good thing that he'll have excellent representation, I still say that Adobe should be paying full price for his defense.
That mealy-mouthed "oh, we're sorry we called in the thugs" business doesn't begin to atone for what they've done.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Why is the U.S. such a big believer in precedents? No other country determines case outcomes based on precedent as strongly as the U.S.
Sure they do. Ever hear of the British Common Law (on which much of the American system is based)?
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
You seem to be unaware that copyright law allows for a number of circumstances in which copying is permitted, for instance, here is a description of some forms of copying allowed WRT computer programs.
So, in the free world (i.e. places like Russia, where the DMCA is not law) you are entirely within your rights to write, and use such software, just as you were in the USA prior to the DMCA.
It strikes me that the USA are retroactively enforcing this law outside its jurisdiction.
From where I'm standing, this looks pretty similar to a totalitarian regime arresting foreign journalists for criticising the regime. The only difference is that the authorities are acting on behalf of totalitarian corporations, rather than a dictator.
Debian: GNU/Linux done the Linux way
Think of a hypothetical new law outlawing unsafe toys (kids might swallow parts, etc.). There may well be such a law already, but let's ignore that for now :-)
...). And you know there would be companies taking advantage of these loopholes and lawyers all too willing to back them up.
Now one way to craft such a law would eb to define in detail what harmful means. For instance, where I live, the rule for deck and stair railings is that a 4.5 inch (I think) ball can't pass through, on the grounds that you don't want small toddlers toddling over the deck edge.
However, for kids toys, there are so many variables (squishy? strange shaped? sharp?) that any such alw owuld be pretty complex, and would need constant revision as new hazards were discovered (not chemically inert, too rough,
I believe that's how France's Napoleonic Code works.
What English-based countries have is Common Law. The law itself is vague, and prcedent sets the details. The end result is the same. Think of precedent as minor revisions of the law in the spirit of the legislature's wisdom.
I personally like common law slightly better. It is more amenable to bogus precedent, but legislatures can come back and clarify what they meant. The main benefit is that precedent is subject to higher court appeal, so any precedent outside the scope of the legislature's intent is generall discarded sooner or later. Meanwhile, the legislature doesn't feel the urge to revise laws quite so often, thus lessening the temptation to change the law altogether in bizarre ways.
Infuriate left and right
That would assume that Adobe's ebook software would or could not interface with existing screen-reader software, nor it would/could interface with any speech synth software. Mighty big IF there.
Not quite.
The whole point of the ebook reeaders (MS's included) are that the text is displayed as a graphic, not text. If it was displayed as text, (which it would need to be, in order to work with a screen reader) then anyone could just use the clipboard to paste the text into Notepad.
Similarly, if the reader had an API to allow a text-to-speech converter, anyone could use that to extract the body of the text. (And because they'd be using an interface to the existing software, then the software would be legal under the DMCA.)
I did a search on google and came up with this page
Keker
It has a piece about the attorney in question. He seems to be one of the best according to this.
...this distinction is one of the first covered in law school. The U.S., being a common law country (in general), deals with precedence.
Important note: Louisiana is a civil law state, NOT a common law state, because of their French heritage.
And while the nature of France as an "evolved" country is certainly debatable (and quite possibly laughable), it is necessary to remind readers of this (slashdot.org). It is difficult to take seriously an argument that advances French handling of technological issues, when we so recently had to deal with them insisting that Yahoo! could and WOULD block all French access to certain auctions.
Lawyers, perhaps more than most of us, thrive or perish according to their ability to access information freely.
Since information is the capital with which lawyers can conduct their business, any sane lawyer could not help but feel threatened by any trend towards enforcing strict locks on information.
Imagine legal textbooks and other legal literature being published as e-Books with strict license agreements stipulating that the information contained can not be used in certain legal contexts (eg defending against DMCA prosecutions, or suing certain companies) - this is not dissimilar to Microsoft's EULA banning use of FrontPage with any website containing anti-Microsoft sentiments.
History is being made by this case.
It's not 'California v Dmitry Sklyarov', it's DMCA v the First Amendment'!
Good luck, Dmitry and Mr Keker! The freedom of the masses depends on you.
-- In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was UNSIGNED, and the main(){} was without form and void...
But what about the owners of the data in those protected files? Don't they have any rights in your mind? I've lost files because the format they were in was password protected. I've had to use password crackers in order to recover my property from being lost forever.
You're also ignoring the oft repeated fact that what he was doing in Russia was perfectly legal. In fact, Adobe was breaking the law in providing their reader software to Russia without a provision for creating a backup.
How about the person down the street? Perhaps they do need this sort of program in order to do their job. Perhaps they went blind in an accident and are trying to get on with their life. Perhaps the hard drive on their computer crashed - the money they just spent on that e-book just went down the tubes because they can't make a backup copy. It's perfectly legal to copy a book to use and keep the original in a secure location - why should duplication for backup purposes be illegal just because the book is now digital?
If god had intended you to be naked, you would have been born that way.
Dimitri is the type of man I aspire to be. I don't think I would have the courage to go to bat for freedom in another country like ours now.
While I hope Dmitri wins his case and gets to go home soon, I don't really think he did anything particularly courageous. At least not knowingly. He never thought he'd be arrested here.
It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
They're not requiring cookies... unless you turn JS on.
Disable javascript, access the page. it has a script in it that autoforwards you if you don't set a cookie. works fine without JS :)
my old sig used to be funny, but then slashcode ate it and now it's not funny anymore
It seems to me that there is a problem with high tech in a precedent based judical system. Common law seems to be based on the assumption that things pretty much stay the same.
The first case to be determined regarding some new and revolutionizing tech development is bound to be heard by judges and lawyers who aren't familiar with it, probbaly somewhat scared and confused by it, and when the full consequences of it is not understood. That sounds like the wirst possible time and way to determine how to handle it in all future.
What happened to the law that cars could only drive 5 mph and have a guy with a red flag walking in front of it?
I have no idea how much money Elcomsoft makes, but I doubt it's a huge amount. This has to be hurting.
-E
Send mail here if you want to reach me.
If he did know it was going to happen then I would question his character more. Going off to be martyr invalidates the martyrdom to some degree.
"He never thought he'd be arrested here."
Ah, but when he was he rose to the occasion. He could have snuck out of the county and junped bail. But instead he choose to stay and plead not guilty....
I don't hand that title out easily. If I were in Russia, I got snagged with a BS DMCA like Russian law and the US was backing me up on human rights princibles think I would skip bail.
He didn't skip bail, he didn't even plea bargin, he is risking 25 years in a forign jail to do what he thinks is right. That makes him a hero for freedom across the world.
Novel theory: Modern Man evolved from psychopath
He could have snuck out of the county and junped bail. But instead he choose to stay and plead not guilty....
You assume a lot here. You assume that he had the means and opportunity to jump bail. That he would have been able to make it onto a plane or boat out of the country without getting caught. There would be a huge risk in attempting such a thing as well. If he were caught, he would certainly spend quite a while in jail. It makes more sense for him to try to stick it out in court than to try to run.
It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
I am really only assuming one thing, if he planned a run for it, he had reasonably good chance to succeed.
Thats why I normally reserve gut feelings about heros and such things to myself. We can't really know he didn't explore and give up hope of the success of that that route. We can't know it is bravery.
I wonder how many medal wearing war heros killed 2 dozen enemy soldiers and bearly escaped a conflict with their lives, but did it strictly out of self preservation not out of any sense of duty.
I don't think we could begin to know what level duty he feels until the trial (and risk of self incrimination) is over. We can only follow our gut.
Novel theory: Modern Man evolved from psychopath
>>Look schmukus,
Lol insults,
>>I can buy a mechanical device which contains proprietary or patented technolgy and I can take it apart, test it, make and publish a set of design documents, basically anything I want to do with it. I can make more tools for taking apart the thing and sell those tools.
Yes but you are talking about something that is tangible, hard to reproduce, the fact that it is tangable makes it allmost copy proof.
File's are not tangable, I can reproduce a million copies with the stroke of a key or a click of a mouse.
>>Maybe a product is worth what people are willing to pay for it. Maybe content in digital form that is so easily duplicated is of lower value than content in a proprietary form. Let them devise their own formats and HW if they don't like the general purpose computing world.
I'm starting to get the picture that you must not live in America, otherwise you would know that in the capitalist marketplace you sell where there is a market. THEY are NOT trying make YOUR computer into anything. They just want to fill a market demand. So apparently a LARGE majority want this product. Ever hear of democracy?
>>Instead these bloody fascists are trying to make MY general purpose computer into THEIR pay per view delivery system. (SSSwhatsit) That makes me very angry. What a bunch of rat-fucking bastards.
Then you got a choice, DON'T USE IT THEN!! Support authors that GPL their work and publish in free ascii and not e-book. Phew I had to just stop myself from going into a flame, anyhow.
Maybe you should stop and look at yourself before you go calling a company trying to protect it's shareholders interest a facist. Open source is an idea, not facism.
--toq