Internet Archive

• The Internet Archive was founded in 1996 as a non-profit digital library, aiming to provide “universal access to all knowledge”.
• It started with a project to preserve the World Wide Web.
• Since 2006, it has also provided a web archiving subscription service to institutions and individuals, allowing them to create digital archives and preserve collections of digital content.

Copyright issues

• The lending of books that are out of copyright is not controversial, but Internet Archive’s distribution of copyrighted works is problematic.
• Only one person can borrow any given copy at a time for a limited period.
• Facilitating access to books in this manner without permission from, or payment to, publishers or authors has been condemned as a “flagrant violation of copyright and authors’ rights”.

Legal implications

• The Southern District of New York court issued its final order in Hachette v. Internet Archive on March 24, 2023.
• The consent judgement of August 11 has banned the Open Library from scanning or distributing commercially available books in digital formats.
• This decision leaves a concerning gap: it does not apply to physical books that are not currently available digitally.
• For example, authors of out-of-print works may choose to later publish their work in an ebook format and monetise that edition.

Consequences

• Other libraries in Canada and the US have adopted the practice as an alternative to far more expensive and restrictive ebook licensing.
• Though the Internet Archive is based in the US, its activities have an effect on the earnings of authors in Australia.
• In contrast to Canada and the US, controlled digital lending is, in general, not allowed in Australia.
• If we want authors to survive, we’ve got to stop assuming that authors’ intellectual labour is a public commodity.