U.S. officials indicted a Russian software programmer and his Moscow-based employer on Tuesday on charges of violating a controversial new U.S. copyright law, signaling the collapse of plea-bargain talks in a case that has sparked international protests.
Dmitry Sklyarov, 26, and ElcomSoft were named in the five-count indictment filed in San Jose, Calif., federal district court, prosecutors said.
They are charged with selling and conspiracy to sell technology designed to circumvent the new U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which bans the sale of technology that can allow people to thwart copyright protections in computer and electronic programs.
Sklyarov, described in the indictment as a "cryptanalyst," is scheduled to be formally charged at his arraignment Thursday. The arraignment was postponed last week until this week to give both sides time to work out a deal.
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