A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals has unanimously affirmed a March 2023 lower court decision finding the Internet Archive’s program to scan and lend print library books is copyright infringement.
In a 64-page decision, released on September 4 and reported in Publishers Weekly, the court rejected Internet Archive’s fair use defense, as well as the novel protocol known as “controlled digital lending”.
“If authors and creators knew that their original works could be copied and disseminated for free, there would be little motivation to produce new works. And a dearth of creative activity would negatively impact the public.”
“This appeal presents the following question,” states the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision. “Is it ‘fair use’ for a nonprofit organization to scan copyright-protected print books in their entirety, and distribute those digital copies online, in full, for free, subject to a one-to-one owned-to-loaned ratio between its print copies and the digital copies it makes available at any given time, all without authorization from the copyright-holding publishers or authors?
The Answer is “No”
“Applying the relevant provisions of the Copyright Act as well as binding Supreme Court and Second Circuit precedent, we conclude the answer is no.”
The closely watched copyright infringement lawsuit was first filed on June 1, 2020, in the Southern District of New York by Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and Wiley, and organized by the Association of American Publishers.
“Infringement is Costly”
“Today’s appellate decision upholds the rights of authors and publishers to license and be compensated for their books and other creative works and reminds us in no uncertain terms that infringement is both costly and antithetical to the public interest,” said Maria A. Pallante President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers.
Tap here for key quotes from the decision.
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