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Internet Archive’s e-book lending is not fair use, appeals court rules


Publishers prevail despite lack of proof of market harm.

Judges for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected the Internet Archive (IA) argument that its controlled digital lending—which allows only one person to borrow each scanned e-book at a time—was a transformative fair use that worked like a traditional library and did not violate copyright law. "IA’s digital books serve the same exact purpose as the originals: making authors’ works available to read," Robinson said, emphasizing that in copyright law, however, "[n]ot every instance will be clear cut... this one is." She said the court upheld "the rights of authors and publishers to license and be compensated for their books and other creative works and reminds us in no uncertain terms that infringement is both costly and antithetical to the public interest."

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