Feds will pursue Russian programmer case
The group representing the programmer charged with violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act says federal officials have given no indication of dropping the prosecution.
Sklyarov, who is being held on criminal charges for allegedly violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, was arrested at a hacker convention last week in Las Vegas after he gave a presentation about technology he created that can be used to crack Adobe Systems' e-books.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is representing Sklyarov, met with prosecutors in San Francisco on Friday, urging them to let him go.
Though the EFF characterized the talks as "productive," the organization said in a release that "the U.S. attorney's office gave no indication of dropping the prosecution against Dmitry Sklyarov."
Federal officials arrested Sklyarov after Adobe complained that his technology compromised its products.
But under mounting public pressure from the programming community, Adobe last week asked that charges be dropped.
However, many people familiar with the case say it's unlikely federal prosecutors will back off the case. For one, U.S. Attorney Robert Mueller, who runs the office where the arrest warrant originated, is the nominee to head the FBI. As a result, he won't want to appear soft on crime during the confirmation period.
What's more, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on a visit to Silicon Valley last week announced that the Department of Justice would be stepping up prosecutions of suspected intellectual property violators.
Meanwhile, protests on behalf of Sklyarov are mounting. Earlier this week, supporters rallied outside Adobe headquarters. And the EFF is calling for people to protest on Monday at 11:30 a.m. outside the federal courthouse in San Francisco. In Los Angeles, protesters are organizing a rally outside the offices of Dianne Feinstein, a prominent DMCA supporter.