Elcomsoft Case Proceeds; U.S. Claims Jurisdiction

An anonymous reader sent in this Reuters article noting that the Elcomsoft case will go forward. Elcomsoft had asserted that the United States didn't have jurisdiction. This is not really ground-breaking news; Elcomsoft did sell its software to people in the United States and it's not surprising that a U.S. court would claim jurisdiction over this. Elcomsoft is also claiming that enforcement of the DMCA violates the Constitutional right to free speech, and that the part of the DMCA which prohibits distributing devices which circumvent protection measures is so vague that enforcement of it violates the Constitutional right to due process under the Fifth Amendment. (See EFF's archive for more.) One or both of these claims may have a greater chance of success than the jurisdiction claim.

Comments

Pattern emerging...

[Anonymous Coward]

Just in case you thought Dmitry Skylarov was the only one dealing with this sort of thing...

Land of the free my ass.

An AP article?

[realgone]

Um... It was posted on CNN.com with a Reuters tagline.

Well, things could be worse; at least the letters "a" and "p" were in that last sentence...

Re:Hypocritical

[Dimensio]

It's multiple lines of defense. First they argue that they are not bound by US law and if that works then the whole issue is moot. They aren't in any trouble and can go if they please. Now that they've been found to be in US jurisdiction they are arguing that the "law" they violated goes against the US Constitution anyway.

In other words, your laws shouldn't apply to us...but if they do, then *all* of your laws must apply and by those laws the charges are unconstitutional.

Software is still available

[DrXym]

The eBook software is still available. Obviously you shouldn't click on the links or you might accidentally download it.

Re:No big surprise or disappointment

[Royster]

When did you EVER hear of a US federal judge ever ruling that he didn't have jurisdiction?

Last month? A US Federal judge ruled he had no jurisdiction over the Taliban and Al Queda prisoners held at the US Naval base in Guantanamo, Cuba.

That said, it is prudent for a defendant to raise every conceivable objection prior to trial. This is common and they are usually dismissed, but they do provide opportunities for appeal. Courts of Appeal (and even the Supreme Court) are more likely to listen to these arguments than a DIstrict Court.