US judge rules Internet Archive’s digital book loan violates copyright | – #judge #rules #Internet #Archives #digital #book #loan #violates #copyright
March 24 (Reuters) – Friday USA judge, by lending digitally scanned copies of books from an online library run by the nonprofit Internet Archive USAruled that the four major publishers of
In Manhattan USAby U.S. District Judge John Koeltl, is a closely watched case that examines the Internet Archive’s ability to lend works by writers and publishers protected by U.S. copyright law for free. court came out in the process.
The San Francisco-based nonprofit has scanned millions of print books over the past decade and given away the resulting digital copies for free. Although many are in the public domain, 3.6 million are protected by valid copyrights.
It includes 33,000 books owned by four publishers, Lagardere SCA’s ( LAGA.PA ) Hachette Book Group, News Corp’s ( NWSA.O ) HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons Inc ( WLY.N ) and Bertelsmann SE & Co’s ( BTGGg.F . ) Penguin Random House.
They are 2020In 2018, more than 127 books were sued, as the Internet Archive lifted limits on how many people could check out books at a time when brick-and-mortar libraries were forced to close due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. credit after expanding the giving .
The nonprofit, which partners with traditional libraries, has since returned to what it calls “controlled digital lending.”
He argued that his practices were protected by the “fair use” doctrine, which in some cases permits unlicensed use of the copyrighted works of others.
But Koeltl said there is nothing “transformative” about the Internet Archive’s digital book copies that would provide “fair use” protection, because its e-books are simply authorized copies that publishers license to traditional libraries. substitute did
“While the IA has the right to lend legally acquired print books, it does not have the right to scan those books and lend digital copies in bulk,” he wrote.
The Internet Archive vowed to appeal in a statement, saying the decision “cuts off access to information in the digital age, harming all readers everywhere.”
Maria Pallante, head of the Association of American Publishers, said in a statement that the decision “underscores the importance of authors, publishers and creative markets in the global community.”
Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston and Blake Brittain in Washington; Edited by Michael Perry
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Nate Raymond
Blake Brittain
2023-03-25 09:15:41
Source – reuters
Translation“24 HOURS”