Scholars Back Internet Archive’s Defense of Digital Lending

A collection of scholars and public interest organizations is backing the Internet Archive’s argument that its digital lending qualifies as fair use, comparable to traditional library lending.

Four major publishers, including Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers LLC, argued in a June 1 lawsuit that the Internet Archive’s practice of lending books it scanned into its 1.3 million book digital library to one reader at a time constituted blatant copyright infringement.

The suit also attacked the lifting of lending restrictions in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Internet Archive shut down that “Emergency Library” weeks ahead of ...