E-Book Duplicators Hit Barnes & Noble By Yury Granovsky VEDOMOSTI Barnes & Noble.com, the No. 1 U.S. online book store, halted the sale of electronic books after Russian company Elcomsoft began selling a program to illegally copy text. Under pressure from Adobe Systems, which created the protective software for the e-books, Elcomsoft was compelled to discontinue the sales of its �hacker� program. It is now distributing that program for free. Barnes & Noble.com�s electronic book department was closed from June 26 to 27 until Adobe provided new protection for e-books. Mark Fagnitno, vice president of Barnes & Noble.com, said the Internet store incurred considerable losses due to the pause in sales of new bestsellers by Arthur C. Clark and Steven King, but he did not give any figures. A m a z o n . c o m , frightened by the actions of the Russian company, revamped all Adobe protective software a day later. There are several formats for electronic books with protection from unauthorized copying. The most popular formats belong to Adobe Systems, Microsoft and Gemstar. The user installs a free program into his computer � Adobe�s eBook Reader, for example � which generates a personal electronic certificate that is assigned to a particular personal computer. While buying a book via the Internet, the user sends the online store his certificate number. The store then makes a copy of the electronic text for the user � which cannot be copied, printed or transferred to other computers. However, Elcomsoft developed Advanced eBook Processor software, which can convert purchased books into PDF, a widely disseminated format that makes books available �to everyone and for any purpose� without actually hacking the Internet stores� servers. This software was offered for sale in late June at www.elcomsoft.com. Alexander Katalov, Elcomsoft�s general manager, said Adobe itself is to blame since it marketed a faulty product. �Adobe is promoting an incomplete technology and isn�t concerned about its safety. No wonder that in an analogy with the musical format MP3, the electronic book world has produced its own Napster and MP3.com,� he said. Katalov added that his software people could crack the new Adobe ebook protection �within half an hour maximum.� Katalov does not consider his actions blameworthy. He says that Advanced eBook Processor, which sold for $100 each, was often purchased by people with poor eyesight since Adobe�s e-book software did not permit the use of programs for reading text out loud. Elcomsoft�s web site also offers programs for �helping users recall the passwords of ICQ and of Microsoft Word documents� � in other words, for cracking the programs. Neither of the companies have brought a lawsuit against Elcomsoft. However, Verio � a U.S. company that is Elcomsoft�s provider along with Digital River, the owner of RegNow, through which the Russian company conducts business � took Adobe�s side after receiving a letter June 25 that described the situation. Verio has terminated the site of the company; later, www.elcomsoft.com had to shift to a new provider. Digital River has stopped taking orders for the disputed program. Under pressure, Elcomsoft has stopped marketing the software � which is now available for free. �We have published the web address from which the program can be taken for free,� Katalov said, �and in the future we will probably publish the cracking algorithm for eBook.� �In this case there could be no claims on the company whatsoever,� said Viktor Mashchenkov, the operating partner of eBuro.ru, a juridical web site. �According to current Russian judicial practice, one can�t be tried for a web address.�
