MaxMin - Internet Archive v. Book Publishers
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This week, owing to this week’s decision in favor of four book publishers and against The Internet Archive, we’re covering that case, Hachette v. Internet Archive, in brief.
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library that aims to provide free access to digital content for everyone. It was founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle and is based in San Francisco, California. The organization's mission is to preserve digital content and make it available to future generations. It has a vast collection of websites, books, videos, images, software, and other digital content that can be accessed for free. The Internet Archive has been involved in various projects, including the Wayback Machine, which allows users to see historical versions of websites, and the Open Library, which provides free access to over 2.5 million digitized books. The organization also hosts the annual Decentralized Web Summit, which explores the future of the web and its potential to become more decentralized and user-controlled. The Internet Archive is funded through donations and grants and is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
This week, the Internet Archive lost a lawsuit brought against it by four book publishers, who claimed that the website did not have the right to scan books and lend them out like a library. The Internet Archive had launched its National Emergency Library program during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing people to read from 1.4 million digitized books with no waitlist. However, Judge John G. Koeltl decided that the Internet Archive had done nothing more than create “derivative works” and would have needed authorization from the books’ copyright holders before lending them out. The judge dismissed all of the Internet Archive’s Fair Use arguments and wrote that any “alleged benefits” from the Internet Archive’s library “cannot outweigh the market harm to the publishers”. The Internet Archive says it will appeal.
