• Library

A Copyright Lawsuit Was Filed Against The Internet Archive's Book Library

3.2KShares
68.7KViews

A copyright lawsuit was filed against the Internet Archive's book library. This lawsuit was filed by four publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and three of the big five US publishers, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, and Penguin Random House. When did it happen? It happened in 2020.

Since it started more than 20 years ago, the Internet Archive has built up a large collection of online artifacts. It is a non-profit digital library that lets people go back to sites that have changed or been taken down.

In the aughts, it also started to offer a selection of ebooks that any internet user could check out with the establishment of a free account.

Black gavel placed on top of an open book
Black gavel placed on top of an open book

But What Is The Internet Archive?

COPYRIGHT_ELM4: Published on https://elm4you.org/copyright-lawsuit-was-filed-against-the-internet-archives-book-library/ by - on 2022-07-22T11:09:55.623Z

The Internet Archive was set up in 1996 in San Francisco, California, with the goal of giving "Universal Access to All Knowledge."

The large collections of digital music, books, and movies can be seen by the general public for free thanks to the archive.

By May 2022, there were over 35 million books and texts; 7.9 million movies, videos, and TV series; 842,000 software programs, 14 million audio files; 4 million photos; 2.4 million TV clips; and 237,000 concerts in the Internet Archive.

Researchers, historians, academics, people with disabilities, including low eyesight and dyslexia, as well as the general public, have access to the vast repository.

The Wayback Machine is one of the most well-liked features on the platform.

Users can "go back in time" and view how websites appeared up to 25 years ago thanks to this digitized World Wide Web archive.

According to the publisher,

Like newspapers, the content published on the web was ephemeral—but unlike newspapers, no one was saving it.

which is why the Wayback Machine has collected 682 billion web pages.

The Internet Archive shows how online content and digital media could be made available to all users in a way similar to a public library, but strong corporate and financial interests have been attacking the repository hard.

So, a group of four corporate publishers sued the Internet Archive in 2020 over copyright disputes. This copyright lawsuit was filed against the Internet Archive's book library.

One side claimed that what the Internet Archive does is preservation, while the other claimed that it is piracy because it freely distributes books as image files without paying the author.

The ongoing litigation began a new chapter last week (4 July-10 July 2022) when the nonprofit organization submitted a motion for summary judgment asking a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that their Controlled Digital Lending program "is a lawful fair use that preserves traditional library lending in the digital world" because "each book loaned via CDL has already been bought and paid for."

On Friday, July 8, 2022, Creative Commons released a statement in support of the Internet Archive's proposal.

The neighborhood public libraries typically collaborate with services like Overdrive, Libby, Hoopla, and Cloud Library to offer digital books that may be checked out.

However, the economy behind these library ebooks is unexpectedly rich and intricate, as Daniel A. Gross delves into in his article for The New Yorker.

To log in to these services, customers must also use their current library card number.

But, the operation of the Internet Archive is a little unique.

Anyone who wants to, can sign up for a free account and begin perusing a variety of resources, including books, movies, software, music, and websites.

The Internet Archive launched an initiative in 2006 to digitize books that are both copyrighted and in the public domain.

It works with a number of international partners, such as other libraries, to scan materials and post them on its website.

Cornell University made a helpful guide to figuring out which works are in the public domain and which are protected by copyright.

Three sections of digital assets in the Internet Archive database with 2 googly eyes on them
Three sections of digital assets in the Internet Archive database with 2 googly eyes on them

The Internet Archive controls the circulation of copyrighted books by allowing only one user to borrow a title at a time.

The Internet Archive owns the physical books from which they made the digital copies.

At the Internet Archive, this is how we digitize a book.We never destroy a book by cutting off its binding.Instead, we digitize it the hard way–one page at a time.

- Internet Archive (@internetarchive) February 6, 2021

The publishers claimed in their most recent filings that Internet Archive had amassed “a collection of more than three million unauthorized in-copyright ebooks – including more than 33,000 of the Publishers’ commercially available titles – without obtaining licenses to do so or paying the rightsholders a cent for exploiting their works. Anybody in the world with an internet connection can instantaneously access these stolen works via IA’s interrelated archive.org and openlibrary.org websites.”

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is representing the Internet Archive in this case.

In its defense, the Internet Archive asserts that “libraries have been practicing CDL in one form or another for more than a decade,” and that the Internet Archive makes its digital books available for loan on an “owned-to-loaned basis, backstopped by strong technical protections to enforce lending limits.”

E-books on a tablet inclined against a stack of books
E-books on a tablet inclined against a stack of books

CDL makes it easier for patrons who live far from a brick-and-mortar library, or who have print disabilities, to access books. It supports research, scholarship, and cultural participation in myriad ways,

the EFF and Internet Archive stated in a memorandum.

In 2020, Brewster Kahle, who started the Internet Archive, told Vox that

when nonprofit libraries have been sued in the past for helping their patrons access their collections, courts have ruled that they were engaging in fair use, as in the HathiTrust case.

Conclusion

A copyright lawsuit was filed against the Internet Archive's book library, but the Internet Archive fought this claim successfully. A similar copyright claim was brought against Google Books too.

Share: Twitter | Facebook | Linkedin

Recent Articles

  • The Science Behind Architecture

    Library

    The Science Behind Architecture

    Discover the science behind architecture and learn about the fundamental principles of design, context and environment, materials and construction techniques, and sustainability. Explore the latest innovations and trends in architecture and find out how architects balance form and function to create structures that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Read more on Commercial Architecture Magazine.

  • Common Energy Healing Myths

    Library

    Common Energy Healing Myths

    There are many different ways to heal someone with energy, and each one has its own healing effect, but some people still believe in some energy healing myths that we want to share today.

  • Academic And Scientific - Differences Between This Terms

    Library

    Academic And Scientific - Differences Between This Terms

    Academic and scientific terms both refer to a research, investigation, or exploration-related action or event that will provide findings that will improve humankind. In universities, research facilities, laboratories, institutes, and other governmental or non-governmental institutions, academic and scientific activities are carried out and events are planned.

  • How Memes Become A Political Expression At War

    Library

    How Memes Become A Political Expression At War

    Memes become a political expression, using an existing cultural framework to transform complicated ideas into concise, understandable messages that evoke strong emotions.

  • Addiction To Social Media - How To Tell If You Are Addicted

    Library

    Addiction To Social Media - How To Tell If You Are Addicted

    Despite the fact that many people use social media regularly, very few of them are actually addicted. Ask the following questions to see if someone is at risk of becoming one.

  • Dangers Of Flying - The Human Body Risk When Traveling By Plane

    Library

    Dangers Of Flying - The Human Body Risk When Traveling By Plane

    Altitude and airplane travel have a number of consequences and many dangers of flying, including oxygen loss, changes to sleep habits, and a higher chance of getting dangerous infections.

  • The Truth Behind DHMO.Org Hoax

    Library

    The Truth Behind DHMO.Org Hoax

    Information literacy is very vital and it's bad that there are a lot of websites that provide wrongful information. Upon further investigation, the DHMO.org hoax was proven.

  • Step By Step Guide On How To Use Consumer Health Complete

    Library

    Step By Step Guide On How To Use Consumer Health Complete

    For medical queries, library customers should refer to the Consumer Health Complete database. Consumer Health Complete provides up-to-date, comprehensive information with illustrations and videos on hundreds of illnesses, conditions, procedures, new medical developments, and other related topics and it's easy to use and understand too.

  • Databases Content Theses - A Vast Source Of Research References To Aid Your Research Study

    Library

    Databases Content Theses - A Vast Source Of Research References To Aid Your Research Study

    Are you currently conducting research in the fields of education, medicine, or science? Finding relevant literature and studies to support one's paper is a challenge for all scholars throughout the world. True, reviewing the literature is a crucial aspect of everyday research for scholars.

  • Celebrities You Didn't Know Attended College

  • ELM 4 You - A Great Place To Start Your Research

  • Mncat Discovery - A New Library Enhanced Discovery Tool

  • What Happen To Our Brain When We Shop - Shopping Addiction

  • Reasons To Enjoy Watching Series More Than You Should