A federal judge has imposed a permanent injunction against the Internet Archive. This, as ABCNews reported, will prevent the organization from scanning and distributing copyrighted books that have already been published by their respective rights holders. This marks the latest twist in the legal dispute which began in 2020 and involves prominent publishers including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House, who filed a lawsuit against the Internet Archive.
The lawsuit was prompted by the Internet Archive’s creation of a “National Emergency Library” during the early stages of the pandemic. At that time, when many libraries and bookstores were closed due to lockdowns, the Internet Archive’s initiative aimed to provide access to digital copies of books. The organization argued that these actions were a justifiable use of the fair use doctrine, aligning with its broader mission of facilitating widespread access to information.
Judge John Koeltl had earlier ruled in March that the Internet Archive had unlawfully offered free electronic versions of 127 copyrighted books. This collection included works by renowned authors such as J.D. Salinger and Toni Morrison. Notably, all 127 books cited in the lawsuit were available in digital formats.
The permanent injunction materialized as a result of an agreement between the parties involved, which was presented to the court last week. While Judge Koeltl approved the injunction, he sided with the Internet Archive on a key point of contention: whether the injunction should encompass e-books that were not officially released by publishers. The publishers sought a broader injunction, whereas the Internet Archive advocated for the restriction to apply only when a legitimate e-book version existed.
Maria Pallante, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, expressed her satisfaction with the court’s decision. She highlighted the approval of the proposed consent judgment and indicated that the scope of the injunction would likely have minimal impact.
While the Internet Archive plans to challenge the March ruling through an appeal, its spokesperson referred to a recent blog post by founder Brewster Kahle when asked for comment. In the post, Kahle underscored the pivotal role of libraries in the current landscape and emphasized the necessity of maintaining public access to information.
Apart from the legal confrontation with publishers, the Internet Archive is concurrently facing legal action from the music industry. Recently, Sony Music Entertainment and other entities initiated a lawsuit against the Archive for digitizing copyrighted 78 rpm records. These records, belonging to artists like Frank Sinatra and Billie Holiday, were digitized as part of the Archive’s “Great 78” project.
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.