Copy of letter sent to US Ambassador in London:
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                                Richard Kay
                                Senior Lecturer in Software Engineering,
                                Technology Innovation Centre,
                                University of Central England,
                                Perry Barr, Birmingham, B42 2SU.
                                Richard.Kay@uce.ac.uk
                                Monday 23rd July 2001
The Ambassador,
US Embassy,
24 Grosvenor Square
London, W1A 1AE

Dear Ambassador,

I am writing to express my disgust concerning the way the FBI has conducted itself with regards to Dmitry Sklyarov a Russian p
rogrammer now wrongfully imprisoned in the US.

Mr. Sklyarov gave a talk at a computer security conference in the US on the security weaknesses of Adobe's eBook product, whic
h were apparently easily discovered. Instead of thanking Mr. Sklyarov for his work, the Adobe software company complained to t
he FBI who detained Mr. Sklyarov for allegedly violating the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA).

I do not dispute the principle that copyright holders should be free to apply encryption technology to secure their works. How
ever, it is obvious (thanks to Elcomsoft, the Russian company Mr Sklyarov works for) the protection given by Adobe's eBook pro
ducts is  substandard and easily overcome. The field of study Mr Sklyarov is engaged in has entirely legitimate usages, for ex
ample, enabling Adobe eBook products to be used by blind people and those with other disabilities.

The imprisonment of Mr Sklyarov -and this use of the DMCA - represents a threat to the freedom of expression of programmers an
d software academics everywhere, should we express our views on security issues affecting substandard products which the DMCA
is apparently intended to protect and then be foolish enough to visit the US. It also presents a situation for programmers res
ident in the US which denies them basic freedoms which your constitution claims to protect.

Software academics and programmers such as myself can, for certain purposes, only effectively express ourselves to our colleag
ues through the discussion and publication of program source code. Suppression of this right cannot be justified on the same o
r similar grounds that make slander, libel or shouting "Fire" in a crowded theatre offences. Those who deny fundamental human
rights of freedom of expression become tyrants, and the countries they misrule become police states. I might also mention that
 developing competitive parts, systems or peripherals which comply with proprietary interfaces has long been considered fair u
se rather than a breach of copyright.

Would you imprison consumer product reviewers if they published weaknesses in proprietary door locks to encourage substandard
lock manufacturers to improve their products ?  If not, then the DMCA must be repealed or amended if the good reputation of th
e US, as a place of freedom of expression and democracy, is not to suffer.

                                Yours sincerely,



                                Richard Kay
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