Copyright Act Preempts Maryland Digital Works Law, Publishers Say

A Maryland law requiring publishers to distribute digital works to public libraries is an “unauthorized, unprecedented” violation of the U.S. Copyright Act, the American Association of Publishers Inc. is alleging in a federal lawsuit in the state.

The law, which requires publishers to distribute electronic books and other digital literary works to public libraries in the state in certain time periods, will go into effect Jan. 1. The American Association of Publishers Inc. said in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland that it is a “frontal attack” on the rights of publishers and ...