Rights Management & Royalties

Citing a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by publishers, Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle announced this week that the IA’s National Emergency Library initiative will cease operation on June 16, two weeks earlier than its previously announced June 30 closing date.

The split decision reaffirmed that York University had engaged in "unfair copying on a systematic basis,” but held that tariff payments for the copying were not mandatory.

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court this week held that annotations added to the State of Georgia’s legal code are not eligible for copyright protection.

While press officials did not endorse the "unilateral" action and "blurred legal arguments" behind the initiative, they largely support its goals.

Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle told U.S. Senator Thom Tillis that the National Emergency Library is meant to provide digital access to students and readers who cannot access print collections during the Covid-19 crisis.

The request comes after judge Orinda Evans issued an opinion finding 38 of 48 claims presented at trial—nearly 80% of the claims that made it to a fair use analysis—were permissible. Meanwhile, the plaintiff publishers. who are not seeking legal fees nor damages, contend they are in fact the prevailing party in the litigation.

"I am not aware of any measure under copyright law that permits a user of copyrighted works to unilaterally create an emergency copyright act," wrote Senator Thom Tillis, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, in an April 8 letter to Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle.

In a filing this week, attorneys for Georgia State University claimed they are the “prevailing party” in a long-running copyright lawsuit over digitized course readings, and argued an injunction proposed by the plaintiff publishers is unwarranted.

After a week of intense criticism, the Internet Archive yesterday posted an FAQ in response to concerns raised by authors over its National Emergency Library. The FAQ claims the initiative has a basis in law, and reiterates that it is being undertaken in response to a national crisis.

On March 2, Judge Orinda Evans delivered her third ruling in the long-running copyright case over college course readings, and recent filings suggest the biggest issue that remains is who will pay the bills for the last 12 years of litigation.