[note: the AAP has issued a statement in which they express satisfaction with Dmitry's eventual return home; what made them change their mind?]
Get Caught Reading -- and go to jail?
It's shocking that the Association of American Publishers wants to send programmers to jail for writing useful software to help readers of electronic books! Please help me ask individual publishers whether or not they meant to be associated with that position.
Many publishers don't support Dmitry Sklyarov's arrest. For instance, William Pollock, founder of San Francisco-based No Starch Press (The Book of JavaScript, Internet for Cats, Programming Linux Games, etc.), issued a press release calling for Dmitry to be freed. The Electronic Publishers Coalition -- which represents dozens of on-line publishers -- did the same. EFF chairman Brad Templeton, often considered the first commercial on-line publisher, calls for Dmitry's freedom.
Despite all this, the Association of American Publishers, the largest trade association of commercial print publishers in the U.S., has been a vocal defender of the DMCA and Dmitry's imprisonment. The AAP started on July 19 by issuing a statement in support of the arrest of Dmitry Sklyarov:
for immediate release
July 19, 2001
Allan Adler, 202-220-4544
Amy Gwiazdowski, 202-220-4550
Publishers Hail Government Action Against Russian Ebook Hackers
Washington, DC: The nation's largest association of book and
journal publishers today hailed the actions of the U.S. Department
of Justice in arresting and charging a Russian cryptographer for
trafficking in software that was primarily designed to "hack"
technological safeguards that prevent unauthorized copying and
distribution of ebooks.
The actions at issue were taken in accordance with provisions of
the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which was enacted by
Congress in 1998 to implement two international copyright treaties
that were adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) and endorsed by the United States and nearly 100 other
nations two years earlier. Among other things, the DMCA prohibits
the manufacture or distribution of products or services that are
primarily designed or produced to circumvent technological
protection measures used by copyright owners, thereby meeting the
treaties' requirement that signatory countries provide "adequate
legal protection and effective legal remedies against
circumvention" of such measures.
According to news reports and documents filed by the Justice
Department in the case, Dmitry Sklyarov is the alleged author of a
program, "Advanced eBook Processor," which was designed to unlock
and strip the technological protection measures from the "eBook
Reader" produced by Adobe Systems Incorporated. Sklyarov, who was
arrested a day after addressing a "hackers convention" in Las Vegas
on the subject of this software, is an employee of ElcomSoft, a
Russian software company that has allegedly been selling the
software through its website.
Pat Schroeder, President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Association of American Publishers (AAP), hailed the Justice
Department's actions as consistent with the DMCA's
"anticircumvention" provisions and the underlying Congressional
intent to promote the availability of books and other copyrighted
works on the Internet and in other digital formats.
According to Mrs. Schroeder, "It's only common sense to expect
that, if the public wants desirable books to be available online
and through other digital media like the Adobe Reader, the authors
and publishers who have the legal rights to commercially exploit
such works in the global digital marketplace must have reasonable
assurances that the market value of their works can be protected
from the extraordinary risks of illegal reproduction and
distribution that are made possible by the capabilities of digital
media. Congress understood this when it enacted the DMCA to help
promote the online availability of copyrighted works."
"Distribution of the means to strip ebooks of their access and
copyright protections is not a public service, any more than it
would be a public service to distribute the keys that unlock a
bookstore or public library," Mrs. Schroeder said. "It merely
facilitates theft, and makes it less likely that ebooks will soon
become a popular reading format."
The Association of American Publishers is the national trade
organization of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP's 310
members include most of the major commercial publishing houses,
along with many small and medium-sized houses, university presses,
and scholarly societies. Among the Association's top priorities is
the protection of intellectual property rights in all media.
###
The AAP has subsequently been sending the following form letter to those who send e-mail about this release:
* * * AAP stands by its press release of July 22 supporting the anticircumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and commending the Department of Justice for acting on its responsibility to enforce the DMCA in the matter of Dmitry Sklyarov. In response to those who attempt to justify circumventing, or trafficking in devices that circumvent, encryption and other technological measures that protect copyright in the digital environment, AAP urges them to carefully consider how their arguments would apply to precisely the same activities in connection with encryption and other technological measures used to protect privacy in that same environment. Amy Gwiazdowski AAP
The AAP has made dozens of public statements since that time reiterating its position! Patricia Schroeder has actually travelled to other countries to let them know that they should follow the lead of the U.S. by enacting "anticircumvention" rules to put programmers in jail.
I believe that the AAP is a worthwhile organization which has done very important work to promote literacy and reading. (One notable example: the AAP was a plaintiff in the court challenge of the Communications Decency Act!) However, the AAP's support of the DMCA, and especially of Mr. Sklyarov's arrest, dishonors the organization and its members.
It's clear that not all AAP members agree with this position! Many other publishers who value intellectual freedom agree, but perhaps some have remained silent lest they be branded "soft on piracy".
I want to make sure that each institutional member of the AAP receives at least one clear, well-written letter objecting to the Association's position on Sklyarov, and explaining the harm done by the DMCA. Below, the list of members as of the date of the statement, originally from http://www.publishers.org/home/abouta/members.htm.
I will note here the date and author of the letter sent to each of the following organizations. Note that some of the links below are incorrect or no longer work. As always, please be clear and civil in your correspondence.
I don't think you have to ask organizations to withdraw from the AAP, just to repudiate the claim that Dmitry Sklyarov belongs in jail.
Let me know when you have written to a particular organization; feel free to send me a copy of your letter.
It is especially important to write to academic and professional publishers, such as university presses, because these organizations can most easily understand the DMCA's risks to professional and scientific expression. (It would be amusing if somebody wrote a letter to Adobe Systems urging Adobe to withdraw from the AAP on account of the AAP's support of Sklyarov's arrest.)
Once again, I think the AAP is a good organization, but its support of the DMCA and other expansions of copyright law does a disservice to its membership and to the public.
Adobe Systems Inc. (345 Park Avenue, San Jose CA 95110)
Al-Basheer Publications and Translations (1750 30th Street, PMB# 440, Boulder, CO 80301)
Algora Publishing (222 Riverside Drive, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10025-6809)
American Anthropological Association (4350 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 640, Arlington, VA 22203-1620)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005)
American Association of Community Colleges (One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 410, Washington, DC 20036)
American Chemical Society (1155 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036)
American Dental Association Publishing Company, Inc.
American Foundation for the Blind [link is incorrect]
American Geophysical Union (2000 Florida Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20009-1277)
American Institute of Physics (One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740-3843) (contact by: Fred Gray, July 22)
American Medical Association (515 N. State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60610)
American Medical Publishers Association
American Psychiatric Press, Inc. (1400 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20005)
American Water Works Association (6666 W. Quincy Ave., Denver, CO 80235)
Apex ePublishing Data Services (400 North Loop 1604 East, Suite 300, San Antonio, TX 78232)
Appraisal Institute (875 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 2400, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1980)
Arte Publico Press (University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204-2174)
Arthur Andersen & Co. (33 W. Monroe, Chicago, IL 60603)
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM, Inc.) (One Astor Plaza, 1515 Broadway, New York, New York 10036-5701) (contact by Seth Schoen, July 21, among many others; USACM issued a release strongly disagreeing with the AAP, and we are waiting to hear from ACM as a whole; AAP subsequently replied to USACM, and ACM is supporting Professor Felten's lawsuit against the recording industry, suggesting that the organization's heart is in the right place)
Association of Research Libraries (21 Dupont Circle, NW, Washington, DC 20036-1109)
ASTM - American Society For Testing Materials (100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, USA 19428-2959)
Axiom Technologies/KnowledgeTrack Corp. (189 South State Street, Suite 200, Clearfield, UT 84015-1044)
Barricade Books, Inc. (185 Bridge Plaza North, Suite 308-A, Fort Lee, NJ 07024)
Begell House, Inc. (145-143 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016)
Bernan Press (4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391)
Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company (300 North Zeeb Road, PO Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346)
Bradley-Carroll Publishing
Break Through Publications, Inc.
Brown Publishing Network, Inc.
Bryan Edwards Publications (2040 S. Santa Cruz, Suite 115, Anaheim, California 92805)
Business Horizons, Inc. [link is wrong]
Butte Publications, Inc. (P.O. Box 1328, Hillsboro, OR 97123-1328)
Cambridge University Press (Cambridge University Press, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4221)
Catch Word (RealPage House, Abingdon Science Park, Barton Lane, Abingdon, OX14 3NB, United Kingdom)
CAST (39 Cross Street, Peabody, MA 01960)
Capitol Books
Center for Strategic & International Studies
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (c/o Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, P.O. Box 100, 1 Bungtown Rd., Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724)
Columbia University Press (61 W. 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023)
Commerical Publication Network
Cornell University Press (Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850)
Council on Foreign Relations Press
Council on Library and Information Resources (1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036)
COVER Publishing Co.
CSLI Publications (Ventura Hall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305)
David R. Godine, Inc. (David R. Godine, Publisher, 9 Hamilton Place, Boston, MA 02108-4715)
DDS Southwest
Dharma Publishing (Dharma House, Yeshe De Project, 2910 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley CA 94702)
Educational Testing Service (Rosedale Road, Princeton, NJ 08541 USA; or, Educational Testing Service, Office of State and Federal Relations, Suite 900, 1800 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006)
Erica House (Post Office Box 1109, Frederick, MD 21702)
First Church of Christ, Scientist
Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company, Inc. (311 Merrimac St/PO Box 369, Newburyport, MA 01950)
Fouque Publishers, Inc
Fraser Williams
Fromm International Publishing Corp.
Gemstar International/Softbook Press, Inc. (Gemstar eBook/TV Guide) (Gemstar-TV Guide International, eBook Dept., 135 N. Los Robles Ave, Suite 800, Pasadena, CA 91101)
Glassbook, Inc. (now a division of Adobe Systems, Inc.; see above for contact address)
Globe Pequot Press, Inc. (The Globe Pequot Press, 246 Goose Lane P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437)
Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Hallawood & Company Publications, Inc.
Hamilton House Publishers, Ltd.
The Hampton-Brown Company, Inc.
HarperCollins Publishers (10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022)
Harvard University Press (contact by Sreeni Nair, July 23, 2001)
Health Affairs/Project Hope (7500 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 600 Bethesda, MD 20814)
Hearst Book Group
Henry Holt & Co. (115 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011)
Highsmith Press (PO Box 800, Ft. Atkinson, WI 53538-0800)
Houghton Mifflin Co. (222 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116)
Howard University Press (c/o Howard University, 2225 Georgia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20059)
Humanics Publishing Group (P.O. Box 7400, Atlanta, Georgia 30309 USA)
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (1124 Montana Ave., Suite B, Santa Monica, CA 90403)
Hyperion (77 West 66th, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10023)
IASP Press/International Association for the Study of Pain (909 NE 43rd St., Suite 306, Seattle, WA 98105-6020)
Impact Publishers, Inc. (Post Office Box 6016, Atascadero, California 93423-6016)
The Institute, Inc.
Institute for International Economics
Institute for International Education
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) (contact by Phillip J. Birmingham, July 26; IEEE noted that it does not endorse the AAP position, and is studying the DMCA to propose reforms)
Institute for Scientific Information (3501 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA)
Interactive Knowledge (iKnow), Inc.
International Life Sciences Institute
J. A. Majors Company (1401 Lakeway Drive, Lewisville, TX 75057)
The Johns Hopkins University Press (2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363)
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012)
J. Paul Getty Trust Publications
Kinokuniya Publications Service of N.Y. Co., Ltd.
Kirchoff/Wohlberg, Inc.
Knovel.com (William Andrew Publishing, 13 Eaton Ave., Norwich, NY 13815)
The Lehigh Press, Inc. (11 Penn Plaza - 5th Floor, New York, New York 10001)
Liberty Fund, Inc. (8335 Allison Pointe Trail, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46250-1684)
The Library of Congress Publishing Office (101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20540)
Light Technology Publishing (P.O. Box 3540, Flagstaff, AZ 86003)
Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers (Three Manhattanville Road, Purchase, NY 10577-2110; a division of CNG)
Logotek, Ltd.
Louisiana State University Press (P.O. Box 25053, Baton Rouge, LA 70894-5053)
Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. (1800 30th Street, Suite 314, Boulder, CO 80301, USA)
Mage Publishers Inc. (1032 29th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007)
Management Concepts, Incorporated
Market Data Retrieval (1 Forest Parkway, Shelton, CT 06484)
Massachusetts Medical Society/New England Journal of Medicine (MMS Publishing Division, 860 Winter Street, Waltham Woods Corporate Center, Waltham, MA 02451-1413; The New England Journal of Medicine Editorial Offices, 10 Shattuck St., Boston, MA 02115)
The McGraw-Hill Companies (2 Penn Plaza, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10121-2298)
Media DNA (2223 Avenida De La Playa, Suite 105, La Jolla, CA 92037)
Mental Interactive Systems
Metro Teaching and Learning Company
Microsoft Corporation (1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052)
Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium, Inc. (5454 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 655, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815)
The MIT Press (Five Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142-1493)
MPI Media Group/WPA Film Library (16101 S. 108th Avenue, Orland Park, IL 60467)
National Academy Press (National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055)
National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, Inc. (514 Poplar St., Columbia, PA 17512-2130)
National Computer Systems, Inc.
National Education Standards
National Geographic Society (1145 17th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036-4688)
National Publishing Co.
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) (1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington VA 22201-3000)
New England Journal of Medicine (see Massachusetts Medical Society, above)
New Park Press
New York University Press (838 Broadway, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10003-4812)
Northeastern University Press (360 Huntington Ave, 416 Columbus Place, Boston MA, 02115)
OCLC Online Computer Library Center
Oxford University Press (Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP U.K.; USA office: Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016)
Pan American Health Organizations
Pathfinder Press
The Pennsylvania State University Press
Pinnacle Education Associates, Inc.
Princeton University Press (41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey, 08540)
Publisher's Group Incorporated
The Publisher's Partnership
Publishers Resource Group, Inc.
The Publishing Law Center (1163 Vine St., Denver, CO 80206)
Random House, Inc. (1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036; there are several imprints with their own mailing addresses, formerly independent publishers)
Reader's Digest Association (The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., Reader's Digest Road, Pleasantville, New York 10570-7000)
Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
Reed Reference Publishing (121 Chanlon Rd., New Providence, NJ 07974; a division of Reed Elsevier)
Resources for the Future/RFF Press (1616 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036)
Rights Market Inc. (#500, 700-4th Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2P 3J4)
Rockefeller University Press (1114 First Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10021)
Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group
R.R. Bowker (RENP [Reed Elsevier New Providence Campus] - North Building, 121 Chanlon Road, New Providence, NJ 07974) (a division of Reed Elsevier)
R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co./Doubleday Direct
Santillana USA Publishing Co., Inc.
Scientific American / St. Martin's College Publishing Group (contacted by Mark Bilbo, August 6).
Scovill Paterson Inc. / Primary Eyecare Communications, Inc.
Signal Media of Arkansas, Inc. DBA
Simon & Schuster (1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10020)
Smart Business Publishing
Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers
Software Reproduction Technologies, Inc.
Southwest School Book Depository, Inc.
Springer Publishing Co. (536 Broadway, New York, NY 10012)
Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. (175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010)
Spirit Soars, Inc. (77 East Andrews Drive, NW, Suite 120, Atlanta, GA 30305)
Stanford University Press (521 Lomita Mall, Stanford, CA 94305-2235)
St. Martin's Press (175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010)
Time Warner Trade Publishing (1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020)
Tin House Literary Quarterly
Todd Publishing Inc.
Tribune Education
Unitarian Universalist Association (Beacon Press, contacted by Fred Gray, July 22; responded with a statement condemning the DMCA and the AAP position)
University of California Press (2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720)
University of Chicago Press (1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637)
University Press of Florida [link is incorrect]
The University of Hawaii Press (2840 Kolowalu Street, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96822-1888)
University of Illinois Press (contact by Fred Gray, July 22)
The University of North Carolina Press, Inc. (Post Office Box 2288, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2288)
University of Oklahoma Press (1005 Asp Avenue, Norman, OK 73019-6051)
University of Science and Philosophy (119 North Main Street, Post Office Box 119, Blacksburg, Virginia 24063)
University of South Carolina Press (937 Assembly Street, Carolina Plaza, 8th Floor, Columbia, SC 29208)
University of Tennessee Press (Suite 110 Conference Center, Knoxville, TN 37996-4108)
University of Texas Press (P.O. Box 7819, Austin, Texas 78713-7819)
University Press of Kentucky (663 South Limestone Street Lexington, KY 40508-4008)
Vantage Press, Inc. (516 W. 34th Street, New York, NY 10001)
Veronis, Suhler & Associates, Inc. (380 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022)
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (2800 Grove Avenue, Richmond, VA 23221-2466)
Virtual Publishing Group, Inc.
Visionary Systems Incorporated
Von Hoffman Press
VSP Books (P.O. Box 17011, Alexandria, VA 17011)
WebCT, Inc. (6 Kimball Lane, Suite 310, Lynnfield, MA 01940)
Wesleyan University Press (110 Mount Vernon Street, Middletown, CT 06459-0433)
Whitston Publishing Company, Inc. (1717 Central Avenue, Suite 201, Albany, NY 12205)
Wil McKnight Associates, Inc. (207 West Jefferson St., Bloomington, IL 61701)
William K. Bradford Publishing Co. (35 Forest Ridge Road, Suite 100, Concord, MA 01742)
Willow Creek Press, Inc. (PO Box 147, Minocqua, WI, 54548-0147)
Wizeup Digital Editions (30 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004)
Workman Publishing (708 Broadway, New York, NY 10003)
World Bank Group (1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433 U.S.A.)
Worth Publishers, Inc. (41 Madison Avenue, 36th floor, New York, NY 10010)
Zooba.com (Summer Exchange Building, 101 Arch Street, Boston, MA 02110)