Dmitry Sklyarov Arrest: Landmark Case and Its Impact on Digital Rights

The arrest this week of a 26-year-old Russian software programmer accused of violating U.S. copyright law has sparked protests and pledges of support from a wide range of free speech advocates, defense lawyers and consumer groups. Dmitry Sklyarov, who was arrested . . . The arrest this week of a 26-year-old Russian software programmer accused of violating U.S. copyright law has sparked protests and pledges of support from a wide range of free speech advocates, defense lawyers and consumer groups. Dmitry Sklyarov, who was arrested on Monday in Las Vegas after Def Con, a major hacker convention there, is the first person to be prosecuted under the controversial 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, federal law enforcement officials said.

Adobe Systems alleged that a program Sklyarov wrote violates that law, which bans the creation or distribution of any technology that circumvents copyright protections.

"Free Dmitry" rallies were scheduled for Monday in San Jose, Boston, Denver, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Reno and Moscow, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based advocacy group focused on free speech issues on the Internet.

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