When publishers lose money, they unite. This March 20, the hearings of four publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Wiley and Penguin Random House) against internet archive, a digital library. They accuse the online service of being akin to “a massive hacking operation,” NextImpact reports.
These hearings are held aftera complaint featured in January 2020 by the editors for copyright infringement, followed by a referral action in July 2022 for copyright infringement. The publishers’ lawyers say: at your request, that the “indisputable facts and established law” lead to the “conclusion” that the digitization and lending of books by the Internet Archive constitutes copyright infringement on a large scale. The complaint lists 127 works, including those by well-known writers such as Toni Morrison, Malcolm Gladwell or Ann Patchett.
The Open Library, owned by the Internet Archive, functions like a library, but online. digital books, belonging to the Internet Archive, are offered as a result of purchases or donations. According to the specialized site News, Open Library offers works published more than ten years ago and these are mainly study books. Copyrighted books are no longer available for purchase and do not have a commercial digital version. The user can borrow up to ten digital books for two weeks and they can only be consulted by one person at a time.
What about the additional revenue for publishers? Libraries’ e-books bring a certain amount to publishers, unlike Open Library works. In fact, the Internet Archive scans books in PDF mode, from its own print collections and not from those produced directly by the publishers.
Internet Archive Lawyer Counter that digitization and “controlled” lending of books be protected and that the tests show that “there is no harm to the publishing market.” The Internet Archive also reportedly tried to convince these publishers to work with the Open Library, without success.
Each complaining party will be heard by telephone and the hearings can be followed publicly. Internet Archive se feed your site live and will report on subsequent hearings.
Source: BFM TV
