Elcomsoft Lawyer Says That The Internet Is Beyond US's Jurisdiction

from the interesting... dept

The lawyer for Elcomsoft (the Russian software company that has been charged under the DMCA for creating software that breaks Adobe's eBook copy protection) is saying that the internet does not fall under US jurisdiction. This is an interesting (and different) tactic to take. I had thought they would argue that the DMCA was bad or didn't apply, but not that the entire internet is a separate jurisdiction. Of course, if that's true, then no courts would actually have jurisdiction over the internet. Perhaps that's what we need: a separate legal system for online cases. I actually think it's a pretty good idea, as it might be possible to populate it with judges who actually understand the online world. Of course, I doubt this will happen any time soon.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Mar 2002 @ 11:35pm

    That would probably suit Yahoo

    They're been charged with selling Nazi memorabilia by a French court. If this defense holds, they'll have a precedent.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.