Internet Archive loses major legal battle over e-book downloads

The Internet Archive digital file preservation and usability project has lost a lawsuit in the United States after some publishers accused the service of copyright infringement when it made e-books available for free reading.

The project in question began as the National Emergency Library, a platform that was launched like a virtual library during the height of the Covid-19 outbreak. The idea was: providing users with free access to a variety of studieswith a credit limit for the entire world at the same time.

Despite, This ban was later lifted by the Internet Archive. — publishing as many readings as each user wants in any given study — and has led publishers to accuse the service of piracy.

The process that began in June 2020 has now come to an end, following the platform’s appeal decision following the initial defeat. The decision forced the Internet Archive to remove more than 500,000 digital books from its catalog.

Piracy or democratized access?

Internet Archive’s usability claim is being evaluated, according to Judge Beth Robinson’s ruling fair use invalid.

So-called “fair use” will only be valid if the original work is made available in part or accompanied by unpublished content which serves as a critique, interpretation, or analysis of books.

The decision also indicates that: The loans were “hurtful” to publishers because they were offered for free and without any compensation to authors or distributors. However, the platform claims that the industry has not provided transparent data confirming this hypothesis.

The Internet Archive’s only victory in the case was the accusation that they were profiting from the virtual library. In fact, the site argued that it was only soliciting voluntary donations to keep itself running, a response that was accepted by the court.

The Internet Archive said in a statement that it was disappointed by the court’s decision, but did not confirm whether the platform would be taken offline entirely. The service continues to say that.We will continue to defend the rights of libraries to own, lend and preserve books.“within the realm of possibility.