The US Court of Appeal has recently made a decision against the Internet Archive, a non-profit organization, confirming that their project of digitizing books violates copyright laws. The court ruled that the actions of the Internet Archive are not protected under the doctrine of fair use, which allows limited use of copyrighted materials.
In March 2020, the Internet Archive, based in San Francisco, launched the National Emergency Library project to provide free access to books during the pandemic when libraries were closed. This project allowed users to access digital copies of books. Prior to this, the Open Library project from the Internet Archive limited the issuance of digitized books to one user at a time, with a physical copy required to be available at a library. However, the NEL project removed this restriction, allowing multiple users to download the same digitized book simultaneously even if there was only one physical copy in the library. This led to backlash from authors and publishers who accused the organization of copyright infringement.
Two months after the launch of the project, the Internet Archive reinstated restrictions on the number of simultaneously issued digital copies in response to the criticism. However, in June 2020, several major publishers, including Hachette, Harpercollins, Penguin Random House, and Wiley, filed a lawsuit against the organization.
In March 2023, the district court ruled in favor of the publishers, stating that the digitization and mass distribution of books by the Internet Archive did not constitute a “transformative” use and violated copyrights. The court highlighted that copying books created unauthorized derivatives without the permission of copyright holders.
The Court of Appeal upheld this decision, stating that the Internet Archive, despite being a non-profit organization, did not have the right to digitize and distribute books without proper licenses and consent from copyright holders. The court emphasized the importance of protecting the rights of authors and publishers to receive compensation for their work and to control its usage.
The court’s decision has left the Internet Archive disappointed. The organization reiterated the importance of libraries owning, providing, and preserving books, expressing concerns that the ruling could restrict access to knowledge and cultural heritage in the digital age.
Furthermore, the Internet Archive is facing other legal challenges, including lawsuits from music labels such as Universal Music Group and Sony regarding a separate music digitization project. These lawsuits, with potential claims reaching up to $400 million, pose a significant threat to the organization’s future existence.