Internet Archive appeals its loss in library ebook lawsuit. What next for the firm after losing out in court? Well, the company has said that it is about the appeal of the case, and they have acknowledged that: “This won’t be easy, but it’s a necessary fight.”
Internet Archive Appeals Library Ebook Lawsuit
The Internet Archive in the early parts of announced that it had appealed its loss in a major ebook copyright case. A notice indicates that it has now filed with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Hachette v. Internet Archive, which is a publishing industry lawsuit over the Open Library program of the nonprofit group. The appeal in question follows a settlement that saw the Archive limit its access to some of its scanned books as well as a second suit that was filed by music publishers over the digitization of vintage records by the Archive.
Hachette as well as three other publishers — HarperCollins, Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House reportedly sued the Internet Archive back in 2020 after it reportedly opened a program known as the National Emergency Library. The National Emergency Library as you should know expanded the long-running Open Library program of the Archive, which allows people to “check out” scanned copies of physical books digitally. Publishers however dubbed both systems “willful digital piracy on an industrial scale,” and in a ruling back in March, a New York judge substantially agreed.
Details of the March Ruling
The ruling back in March found that the scanning and lending of books of the Internet Archive didn’t fall under the protections of fair use law, and at such an August settlement required the platform to take away public access to commercially available books that remained under copyright.
And in addition to affecting the Archive, the ruling in question cast doubt on a legal theory known as “controlled digital lending” that would enable other libraries to offer access to digitized versions of books that they physically own — rather than simply relying on frequently expensive and limited lending systems such as OverDrive.
Internet Archive Director of Library Services Response to the Ruling and Appeal
Chris Freeland, Internet Archive director of library services acknowledged that the appeal in question could be a difficult legal battle. “As we stated when the decision was handed down in March, we believe the lower court made errors in facts and law, so we are fighting on in the face of great challenges,” Freeland in the Archive’s announcement stated. “We know this won’t be easy, but it’s a necessary fight if we want library collections to survive in the digital age.” Freeland also stated that the Archive will share more details regarding the case as it progresses.
Internet Archive Is Still Preparing Its Response to the Lawsuit by UMG
Court documents on the other hand indicate that the Internet Archive is still preparing its response to the lawsuit by UMG as well as other record labels, as a pretrial conference in that case is currently scheduled for the month of October.
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