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posted by martyb on Monday June 29 2020, @07:28PM   Printer-friendly
from the when-elephants-fight,-the-grass-gets-trampled dept.

EFF & Heavyweight Legal Team Will Defend Internet Archive's Digital Library Against Publishers

The EFF has revealed it is teaming up with law firm Durie Tangri to defend the Internet Archive against a lawsuit targeting its Open Library. According to court filings, the impending storm is shaping up to be a battle of the giants, with opposing attorneys having previously defended Google in book scanning cases and won a $1bn verdict for the RIAA against ISP Cox.

In March and faced with the chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Internet Archive (IA) launched its National Emergency Library (NEL). Built on its existing Open Library, the NEL provided users with unlimited borrowing of more than a million books, something which the IA hoped would help "displaced learners" restricted by quarantine measures.

After making a lot of noise in opposition to both the Open and Emergency libraries, publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, John Wiley and Penguin Random House filed a massive copyright infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive.

[...] Last evening the EFF announced that it is joining forces with California-based law firm Durie Tangri to defend the Internet Archive against a lawsuit which they say is a threat to IA's Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) program. The CDL program allows people to check out scanned copies of books for which the IA and its partners can produce physically-owned copies. The publishers clearly have a major problem with the system but according to IA and EFF, the service is no different from that offered by other libraries. "EFF is proud to stand with the Archive and protect this important public service," says EFF Legal Director Corynne McSherry.

Previously: Internet Archive Suspends E-Book Lending "Waiting Lists" During U.S. National Emergency
Authors Fume as Online Library "Lends" Unlimited Free Books
University Libraries Offer Online "Lending" of Scanned In-Copyright Books
Publishers Sue the Internet Archive Over its Open Library, Declare it a Pirate Site
Internet Archive Ends "Emergency Library" Early to Appease Publishers


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  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday June 29 2020, @10:27PM (7 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Monday June 29 2020, @10:27PM (#1014281)

    Thanks for that.

    As an aside, are the Honor Harrington books worth reading?

    I do enjoy space opera (which I assume the series is an example of) and have enjoyed other books written by David Weber.

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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 29 2020, @11:25PM (4 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 29 2020, @11:25PM (#1014299) Journal

    Welllllllll - TBH, I've only read a couple of the Honor stories. They are a bit, uhhhhm, "juvenile" maybe? Simplistic, maybe? I'm not sure what term I'm looking for, but, Honor Harrington is a bit sweet, naive, gullible, for my taste. I like my badasses to be gritty, and credible.

    Best advice? Grab a couple, read them, and if you like them, read them all!! They aren't bad stories at all. Just not to my taste, is all.

    While you browse the Honor Harrington books, you might introduce yourself to David Drake. His badasses seem much more genuine. Stories written by psychotic combat veterans seem to have genuine war heroes. ;^)

    NOTE: Drake no longer writes the same quality of story as his Hammer's Slammers. He seems to have recovered (somewhat) from his phychosis (how do you write that in plural form?) He is no longer capable of writing a story like Redliners. Maybe more accurately, he is unwilling to go back to where he was when he wrote those stories.

    • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday June 29 2020, @11:55PM (2 children)

      by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Monday June 29 2020, @11:55PM (#1014310)

      Thanks.

      I may have to try one then. Juvenile doesn't worry me too much, (famous last words).

      I have definitely read some of David Drake's stuff, and quite liked it. He wrote one of the 1632 novels I think?

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday June 30 2020, @02:48AM (1 child)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 30 2020, @02:48AM (#1014343) Journal

        I think he's been involved - co-authored one or more of them. Those Baen boys kinda mix it up with each other, collaberating on storylines. The 1632 novels are well worth reading. It works better if you're familiar with the real history, of course, but even if you're not especially, this series of books will expand your horizons some.

        • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 30 2020, @08:52PM

          by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Tuesday June 30 2020, @08:52PM (#1014696)

          I have read fairly extensively about the 30 Years War, and still have only a vague idea of what happened.

          It sort of went like this I think:

          Protestants finally got strong enough to found their own churches.

          The Pope got angry.

          Every army in Europe went to Germany to fight about it.

          25% of the population died. Nothing was resolved.

          I have read few of the 1632 books and quite enjoyed them but then lost track of the order and my library doesn't seem to have them all anyway.

          Alternate history is such fun. Island in the sea of time is another favourite of mine.

    • (Score: 3, Informative) by hendrikboom on Tuesday June 30 2020, @09:27PM

      by hendrikboom (1125) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday June 30 2020, @09:27PM (#1014710) Homepage Journal

      psychoses

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 30 2020, @04:59AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 30 2020, @04:59AM (#1014402)

    Read Horatio Hornblower instead. Honor Harrington is just a dumbed-down Americanized science-fantasy adaptation.

  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday June 30 2020, @03:22PM

    by Freeman (732) on Tuesday June 30 2020, @03:22PM (#1014521) Journal

    This series was pretty interesting. https://www.baen.com/fire-with-fire.html [baen.com] If nothing else, the free book was fun.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"