Last year's position : Not Placed

Although his trial is over, with the code-jockey acquitted of all charges following his work for Russian software outfit ElcomSoft to crack the code protection systems on Adobe eBooks, Sklyarov's prosecution has galvanised opinion on either side of the legal fence.

While Dmitri himself has confessed to wanting a quiet life from here on in, it seems the effects of his lawsuit won't fade into the background quietly. As a result of the case, developers are cautious of sailing too close to the legal wind and lawyers have renewed confidence in taking programmers to court: a Florida man was tried and convicted last month in the first successful prosecution under the DMCA - the law that put Dmitri in the dock.