The Internet Archive suddenly has half a million fewer books to offer, this being the result of the book publishers winning a court battle against the free online library, ArsTechnica reported. The publishers have long been skeptical of the Internet Archive’s modus operandi, accusing it of copyright infringement.
The Internet Archive, on its part, has said it would be contesting the court’s order and put forth its case afresh. They wish to convince the court their lending of e-books does not lead to any violation of existing copyright laws or that there is no evidence the e-book market or the publishers suffered any damages from IA’s activities. The court is going to hear the case starting June 28.
“We use industry-standard technology to prevent our books from being downloaded and redistributed—the same technology used by corporate publishers,” Chris Freeland, IA’s director of library services, wrote in the blog. “But the publishers suing our library say we shouldn’t be allowed to lend the books we own. They have forced us to remove more than half a million books from our library, and that’s why we are appealing.”
Freeland also likened the court case to a fight ‘for the preservation of all libraries and the fundamental right to access information, a cornerstone of any democratic society.’
“We believe in the right of authors to benefit from their work; and we believe that libraries must be permitted to fulfill their mission of providing access to knowledge, regardless of whether it takes physical or digital form. Doing so upholds the principle that knowledge should be equally and equitably accessible to everyone, regardless of where they live or where they learn.”
IA also stated they are working for a noble cause in that those from the marginalized section of the society, the economically backward, those from the rural sections, and so on benefit from IA’s activities immensely. No wonder, IA fans have already sent an open letter to the publishers urging them to restore access to the books that currently are marked as ‘Borrow Unavailable’ at IA. There have already been more than 20,000 signatories in the letter, with 25,000 signatures being the goal at the moment.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.