The Verge: “The Internet Archive is Defending Its Digital Library in Court Today”

UPDATE Hachette v. Internet Archive
Statements, Materials, and Media Reports Re: March 20, 2023 Oral Arguments
(Last Updated: 10:00am, March 21, 2023; We Expect Additional Updates)

Media Reports

• A Skeptical Judge Presses Internet Archive to Cite Cases That Support Their Copying (via Publishers Lunch; Blurb Only, Full Text Subs Only)
• At Hearing, Judge Appears Skeptical of Internet Archive‘s Scanning and Lending Program (via Publisher’s Weekly)
• Book Publishers with Surging Profits Struggle to Prove Internet Archive Hurt Sales (via ars technica)
• How the Internet Archive Faces Potential Destruction at the Hands of Big Four Publishers (via The Register)
• Internet Archive’s Copyright Battle with Book Publishers Nears Climax (via Torrent Freak)
• Internet Archive Defends Right to Lend Digital Books, Media (via Edscoop)
• Internet Archive Faces Skeptical Judge in Publishers’ Copyright Lawsuit (via Reuters)
• Internet Archive Faces Uphill Battle in Lawsuit Over Its Free Digital Library (via Gizmodo)
• Judge Presses For Damages Details In Internet Archive Suit (via Law 360; Blurb Only, Full Text Subs Only)
• Publishers Go Head to Head With the Internet Archive in Copyright Lawsuit in the US (via The Bookseller)

Statements

• Association of American Publishers: Statement on Oral Arguments in Infringement Suit Against Internet Archive
• Authors Alliance: Judge Hears Oral Arguments in Hachette Book Group v. Internet Archive
• Fight For the Future: 10,000+ Rally for the Internet Archive as Nonprofit Fights for Libraries’ Digital Rights

Internet Archive

• Internet Archive Live Blog: Legal Commentary During Hearing
• Internet Archive Press Conference: March 20, 2023

—End Update—
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From The Verge:

At 1PM ET, a New York federal court will hear oral arguments in Hachette v. Internet Archive, a lawsuit over the archive’s Open Library program. The court will consider whether the Open Library violated copyright law by letting users “check out” digitized copies of physical books, an assertion several major publishers made in their 2020 suit. The case will be broadcast over teleconference, with the phone number available here.

[Clip]

This lawsuit wasn’t actually spurred by classic CDL [controlled digital lending]. As physical libraries closed their doors in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, the Internet Archive launched what it called the National Emergency Library, removing the “own-to-loan” restriction and letting unlimited numbers of people access each ebook with a two-week lending period. Publishers and some authors complained about the move. Legal action from Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House — a list that includes three of the print industry’s “Big Five” publishers — followed soon after.

Publishers took aim not just at the National Emergency Library, however, but also at the Open Library and the theory of CDL in general.

Learn More, Read the Complete Article  (approx. 860 words)

See Also:

UPDATE: We’re Adding Links to Statements, Materials, and Media Reports
Re: Today’s Oral Arguments: Hachette v. Internet Archive
1) Internet Archive Press Conference: March 20, 2023
2) Live Blog: Internet Archive Expert Reactions Chat During Hearing
(Last Updated: 3pm, March 20, 2023)

—End Updates—

From The Verge:

At 1PM ET, a New York federal court will hear oral arguments in Hachette v. Internet Archive, a lawsuit over the archive’s Open Library program. The court will consider whether the Open Library violated copyright law by letting users “check out” digitized copies of physical books, an assertion several major publishers made in their 2020 suit. The case will be broadcast over teleconference, with the phone number available here.

[Clip]

This lawsuit wasn’t actually spurred by classic CDL [controlled digital lending]. As physical libraries closed their doors in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, the Internet Archive launched what it called the National Emergency Library, removing the “own-to-loan” restriction and letting unlimited numbers of people access each ebook with a two-week lending period. Publishers and some authors complained about the move. Legal action from Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House — a list that includes three of the print industry’s “Big Five” publishers — followed soon after.

Publishers took aim not just at the National Emergency Library, however, but also at the Open Library and the theory of CDL in general.

Learn More, Read the Complete Article  (approx. 860 words)

See Also: Publishers, Internet Archive Set for Key Hearing Today (via PW)

See Also: Complete Court Docket +  Filings

See Also: Motions, Supporting Documents For Summary Judgment Filed by Publishers and Internet Archive (Hachette Book Group, Inc. et al. v. Internet Archive)

See Also: Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and Wiley File Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Internet Archive (June 1, 2020)

See Also: Complete Court Docket +  Filings

See Also: Motions, Supporting Documents For Summary Judgment Filed by Publishers and Internet Archive (Hachette Book Group, Inc. et al. v. Internet Archive)

See Also: Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and Wiley File Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Internet Archive (June 1, 2020)

Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Digital Collections, Digital Preservation, Interactive Tools, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Publishing, Reports