Dmitry's supporters miss the point? This is the most articulate argument for imprisoning Dmitry Sklyarov I've seen yet. It acknowledges that the DMCA, by not making fair use provisions, is flawed, but argues that because Dmitry and his company profited from selling their cracking tools, they've done something illegal. Under this line of argument, had ElcomSoft given away their product for free, then they should not have faced criminal charges. The article goes on to make an analogy between someone selling devices that could open store fronts claiming they were innocent because folks who let themselves into the store might not take anything. Last I checked, folks have already made such devices, they're called lockpicks, and they're legal to buy and own.

Publishers should reconsider releasing their content in digital form. E-books are not popular, despite what the columnist claims. Non-crippled CDs will always allow online file sharing. Publishers are clearly unprepared for the business model implications of moving content from the physical world to digital media. The rest of us should not have to suffer for their inability to operate in the digital world.