Dmitri case postponed in visa row

The landmark ElcomSoft trial in the US, which is the first criminal test of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, has been delayed six-and-a-half weeks while both sides try to obtain permission for key witnesses to travel to the US from Russia.

The trial was originally scheduled to start on Monday in San Jose, California. It is now slated to begin on 2 December. The lawyers have been given extra time to get permission from immigration authorities for ElcomSoft programmer Dmitri Sklyarov and CEO Alex Katalov to enter the US.

Officials at the US Embassy in Russia denied the witnesses' visa applications to enter the country, according to people close to the matter. Lawyers in the case were unable to provide an explanation for the denial.

ElcomSoft faces charges that it violated criminal provisions of the DMCA by offering software that could be used to crack the copyright locks in Adobe Systems' eBooks. The law makes it illegal to disseminate technology that can be used to circumvent copyright protection.

Assistant US Attorney Scott Frewing said he would use "whatever authority" he has to get permission for the witnesses to travel to the US. He also said he was working with the Immigration and Naturalization Service on putting a special parole process for Sklyarov and Katalov in motion.

Lisa M Bowman writes for News.com