Sklyarov's year: Arrested, jailed, freed - and baffled (part two)

The defence later called Sklyarov as its own witness, and in a calm, cooperative manner, the boyish programmer testified that he never intended for the product to be used illegally - an assertion that played well with jurors interviewed after the case.

He said the software was designed to allow people to make backup copies of eBooks they already own or transfer the material to a different computer. Earlier in the two-week long trial, the government had tried to use the videotaped deposition to characterise Sklyarov as a hacker affiliate who knew his program could be used for bad purposes but didn't care. The prosecution did not comment on its decision not to call him in person.

Electronic Frontier Foundation attorney Fred von Lohmann said he's not surprised that many jurors found Sklyarov sympathetic. "The jury saw this serious young man and not a copyright pirate," he said. "They must have said, 'Where's the bad guy here?'"

Von Lohmann said the arrest of the quiet, mild-mannered Sklyarov was critical in galvanising programmers to fight heavy-handed use of the DMCA. "He is a classic programmer," von Lohmann said. "He looks like them; he talks like them; he cares about the issues they care about - and he went to jail."

Sklyarov is still working for ElcomSoft these days, in addition to teaching at a technical university in Moscow. He said the company treats him well, although he would think twice about working on any project that veers too close to the DMCA line. To this day, though, Sklyarov insists ElcomSoft's Advanced eBook Processor is legal. Echoing statements made by ElcomSoft attorney Joseph Burton during the trial, Sklyarov compared the Advanced eBook Processor to a lock pick, which could be used for both good and bad purposes.

He also likened the software to a gun. "It has legal applications; it could be used for many legal things, for good things," he said. "A weapon could be used for killing and for protecting myself, but in (the) United States (a) weapon is legal."

Sklyarov said he understood Adobe's eagerness to pursue him and his employer because they were pointing out flaws in the company's software. "Sure I can understand it because if somebody produces bad stuff, and someone proves that this stuff is real bad, nobody will like it." He said Adobe's PDF format is probably the best in the world for distributing documents, but it falls short when it comes to protecting them.

Sklyarov laments that he wasted a year and a half dealing with the legal wrangling surrounding the product he developed. But he's learned to take it in stride. He passed time in jail by reading books from the inmate library, including Ken Follett's "Night Over Water." And when he was not allowed to return to Russia for four months following his release from jail, Sklyarov wrote code for ElcomSoft from an apartment in the United States.

Sklyarov said he didn't have to give up anything significant to get the government to set aside the charges against him last year. He thinks prosecutors backed down because they didn't have a good case against him.

"Most probably they understand that they couldn't prove that I am violating the law, so for them it's much more safe to... release me, to let me return back to Russia," Sklyarov said.

Sklyarov left to return to Russia the day after the defence wrapped up its case. He said he plans to spend more time with his wife and two children when not teaching and working on ElcomSoft projects he described as too complicated to explain. Meanwhile, he hopes to concentrate on coding and leave arguments about the DMCA to lawyers.

He said if someone came to him with another project focused on cracking copyrights, "I would ask you, if you're sure this is legal." If the answer is unclear, Sklyarov said he would suggest the person find a lawyer who could figure it out.

Lisa M. Bowman writes for News.com