Internet Archive—Lost copyright lawsuit to major publishers - 500,000+ books removed, 'controlled digital lending' rejected
In 2020, four major publishers (Hachette, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Wiley) sued Internet Archive over its Open Library lending practices. The lawsuit was triggered by the 'National Emergency Library' during COVID-19 which removed lending limits. In March 2023, the court ruled against Internet Archive on all four fair use factors. The Second Circuit affirmed in September 2024. Over 500,000 books were removed and the 'controlled digital lending' legal theory was rejected.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge Access & Information Freedom | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.221 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)× agency (compelled ×0.25)
Evidence (1 signal)
Lost copyright lawsuit to major publishers - 500,000+ books removed, 'controlled digital lending' rejected
In 2020, four major publishers (Hachette, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Wiley) sued Internet Archive over its Open Library lending practices. The lawsuit was triggered by the 'National Emergency Library' during COVID-19 which removed lending limits. In March 2023, the court ruled against Internet Archive on all four fair use factors. The Second Circuit affirmed in September 2024. Over 500,000 books were removed and the 'controlled digital lending' legal theory was rejected.