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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Publishers Sue the Internet Archive Over its Open Library, Declare it a Pirate Site [torrentfreak.com]

Several major publishers have filed a copyright infringement lawsuit in a New York court targeting the Internet Archive's Open Library. According to the complaint, the project is a massive and willful infringement project that amounts to little more than a regular pirate site.

Back in March, the Internet Archive responded to the coronavirus pandemic by offering a new service to help "displaced learners".

Combining scanned books from three libraries, the Archive offered unlimited borrowing of more than a million books, so that people could continue to learn while in quarantine.

While the move was welcomed by those in favor of open access to education, publishers and pro-copyright groups slammed the decision [torrentfreak.com], with some describing it as an attempt to bend copyright law and others declaring the project as mass-scale piracy.

Today, major publishers Hachette Book Group, Inc., HarperCollins Publishers LLC, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and Penguin Random House LLC went to war with the project by filing a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive and five 'Doe' defendants in a New York court.

Complaint [torrentfreak.com] (PDF).

Previously: Internet Archive's Open Library Now Supports Full-Text Searches for All 4+ Million Items [soylentnews.org]
Internet Archive Suspends E-Book Lending "Waiting Lists" During U.S. National Emergency [soylentnews.org]
Authors Fume as Online Library "Lends" Unlimited Free Books [soylentnews.org]
University Libraries Offer Online "Lending" of Scanned In-Copyright Books [soylentnews.org]

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