Court Rules Against Internet Archive in Copyright Case

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court has sided with four major book publishers against the nonprofit Internet Archive, which was accused of illegally scanning and sharing copyrighted works online without permission.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan supported Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House, ruling that the archive’s large-scale copying did not qualify as “fair use.”

The publishers claimed copyright infringement for 127 books, including works by Malcolm Gladwell, C.S. Lewis, Toni Morrison, J.D. Salinger, and Elie Wiesel, made available for free through the Internet Archive’s Free Digital Library.

In defense, the Internet Archive argued that it provided transformative lending services that increased access to knowledge. However, Circuit Judge Beth Robinson stated that the archive’s actions simply replaced the original books rather than transforming them.

Robinson noted that free access to these books could harm publishers and negatively affect the public’s reading habits by reducing their incentive to purchase books. She cited author Sandra Cisneros, who likened finding her works available for free online to discovering her stolen items in a pawn shop.

The Internet Archive had been appealing a previous ruling from U.S. District Judge John Koeltl in March 2023. Chris Freeland, the archive’s director of library services, mentioned that they are reviewing the decision and will continue to advocate for the rights of libraries.

Maria Pallante, president of the Association of American Publishers, hailed the ruling as a significant victory for authors and publishers, affirming their essential role in society.

While the Internet Archive’s Free Digital Library typically limits lending to one checkout per physical book, it temporarily expanded this limit to 10,000 users during the COVID-19 pandemic, which ended shortly after the publishers filed their lawsuit.

The case is Hachette Book Group Inc et al v. Internet Archive, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-1260.