[FYI] (Fwd) FC: German cops reportedly raid PDF pirate for copyright

["Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Tue, 11 Sep 2001 01:31:29 -0400
To:             	politech@politechbot.com
From:           	Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
Subject:        	FC: German cops reportedly raid PDF pirate for copyright
 	infringement
Copies to:      	Schaub@springer.de
Send reply to:  	declan@well.com

[Probably if the same (alleged) act were to take place in the U.S.,
the same raid would happen. Nothing to do with the DMCA or the SSSCA.
The U.S. law in question, assuming the raidee wasn't selling PDFs, is
the 1997 NET Act, which made not-for-profit copyright infringements a
crime. Share software with your friends or family and go to prison if
you get caught. I invite Springer to reply. --Declan]

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From: Tom <tom@lemuria.org>
Subject: [free-sklyarov] more PDF arrests ?
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 13:13:22 +0200
User-Agent: Mutt/1.2.5i

this just in on a german newssite:

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/jes-10.09.01-000/

for those not speaking german, a short summary:

someone in munich was raided by 5 cops, PC and peripherals taken,
because he allegedly posted a "cracked" (reference to elcomsoft)
copyrighted .pdf file on his webpage.

the search order explicitly mentions "hacker software for pdf
cracking".

*********

From: Kurt Foss <kfoss@planetpdf.com>
Subject: [free-sklyarov] FYI> Computer seized in alleged PDF eBook
crack To: free-sklyarov@zork.net Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001 10:17:39 -0500

Based on accusations of copyright infringement involving an allegedly
cracked PDF version of a recently released book, police in Munich,
Germany have reportedly seized the computer and peripheral equipment
of a Web site owner. Purchase of the book apparently included a CD-ROM
of the contents; according to reports, the protected PDF's security
permissions were removed using software from ElcomSoft Co. Ltd -- but
not the same controversial application which led to recent indictments
for ElcomSoft and employee Dmitry Sklyarov on violations of the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

http://www.planetebook.com/mainpage.asp?webpageid=231

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[Following is what Babelfish makes of the heise.de article. --DBM]

House search because of gecrackter PDF file (update)

The public prosecutor's office Munich let seize the computer system of
an Website operator, because it is to have still offered a in
copyright matters protected and PDF file gecrackte in addition.
According to specification of the concerning at least five officials
penetrated into his dwelling and carried one PC with monitor as well
as two scanners and some diskettes forward. In that heise on-line
available search resolution of the district court running is called it
that in particular for data carriering with the PDF data as well as,
so literally, " Heckersoftware is looked up for decoding PDF
Verschluesselungsprogrammen ". With the corpus Delicti concerns it a
PDF file, which is attached to CD on the " manual of the printed media
". The Website operator said heise on-line, the public prosecutor's
office accuses to him now the file with the help of the software "
Advanced pdf Recovery " the Russian company ElcomSoft to have
gecrackt. This software, which can be downloaded in a demo version
free of charge, decodes Adobe Acrobat PDF files, which are provided
with an owner password, in order it against modifications,
supplements, printing, extracting text or pictures to protect. One the
programmer von ElcomSoft is located at present in the USA before
court, because he is to have cracked the protection of another Adobe
program. In the search resolution, which obviously decreases/goes back
to a charge of the scientific Springer publishing house, an offence
against copyright is accused to suspecting. Usually in such cases on
the civil way a requirement for omission is interspersed. The
director/conductor of the responsible residents of Munich public
prosecutor, Dr. Hubert full man, acknowledged opposite heise on-line
that in the course of a preliminary investigation a house search was
executed. The analysis of the seized evidence would take about six
weeks. Only then is to be counted on results. On the uncommon
methodology during a copyright infringement addressed, full man said:
" a proportionateness is given already alone, because a judge, who
enjoys judicial independence, signed the resolution. " If he did not
want to give closer specification to the procedure and the looked up
evidence, it stressed however that he could not be come the search
resolution (the heise on-line is present) for with one hour of
preparation time the set discussion ( jes / c't)

*********




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