U.S. v Elcomsoft Part I: Significance

For a paper I’m working on for a conference, I will be discussing for the next several weeks, the case of U.S. v Elcomsoft and how it relates to “modern” cyberculture. U.S. v Elcomsoft is significant for five reasons. The first being that it was the first direct challenge to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). A few cases before this one challenge aspects of the case (e.g., Fenton v RIAA, which challenged the RIAA ability to use the DMCA to prevent research), but none challenge the act in whole. This case also challenged the constitutionality of the act under the first and fifth amendments. Second, the case calls into question the accessibility of end-products, with regards to the flexibility of manipulation of the end-product. This law is especially relevant to handicap accessibility (Section 508 laws) and direct ownership of end-products. Third, U.S. v Elcomsoft was originally Adobe v Elcomsoft. The U.S. government took over the role as plaintiff after Adobe withdrew from the case. Adobe wanted to drop the case; the U.S. government refused this request. Therefore, this case calls into question the role of the creator of intelligential products in criminal and civil actions, and who can supersede those rights. Fourth, it attempts to defend the idea of computer programs being a form of language. The question that came from this discussion is if a computer program is a “perfect work,” that is the program should not be edited or can the program be decoded and read by interested parties? The last, and perhaps the broadest argument for the relevance of this case is the implications for international media law. Many of these laws were created before the advent of the Internet and digital distribution. How will the DMCA influence and affect other countries’ media laws or cooperation between countries?