By CNET Networks, 18 December 2002 10:40
NEWS Jurors on the landmark Elcomsoft trial have acquitted the Russian software firm because they believed the company didn't mean to violate the law. The case has been the first major test of the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act. A jury on Tuesday acquitted Elcomsoft of criminal copyright charges related to selling a program that can crack Adobe antipiracy protections on electronic books. The case against ElcomSoft is considered a crucial test of the criminal provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a controversial law designed to extend copyright protections into the digital age. The company faced four charges related to directly designing and marketing software that could be used to crack eBook copyright protections, plus an additional charge related to conspiring to do so. The jury acquitted the company of all charges. Jury foreman Dennis Strader said the jurors agreed ElcomSoft's product was illegal but acquitted the company because they believed the company didn't mean to violate the law. He said in an interview after the verdict: "We didn't understand why a million-dollar company would put on their web page an illegal thing that would [ruin] their whole business if they were caught." Strader added that the panel found the DMCA itself confusing, making it easy for jurors to believe that executives from Russia might not fully understand it. Lisa M Bowman writes for News.com
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