
Authors fume as online library “lends” unlimited free books - bookofjoe
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/03/authors-fume-as-online-library-lends-unlimited-free-books/
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dang
Recent and related:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22731472](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22731472)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22716923](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22716923)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22731637](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22731637)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22715009](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22715009)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22681132](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22681132)

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PragmaticPulp
TL;DR: Internet Archive decided to remove the restriction that their books
could only be borrowed by 1 person at a time. No limit on renewals.
Effectively, any book in their library is now a free-for-all with no
restrictions.

In other words, they've gone from library-style lending books in their archive
to distributing them without restrictions.

Very disappointing move by the Internet Archive. This seems like a home-run
case for authors and publishers whose copyrighted works have been distributed.

Regardless of your stance on copyright law, this puts the Internet Archive and
Wayback Machine at serious risk of being lost to inevitable lawsuits. Not a
good move as the economy is grinding to a halt.

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threwawasy1228
If they remove it post-coronavirus, they will probably get a lot of leeway
from the judge on the case.

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smt88
What is your basis for this? Why would a judge agree to a blanket suspension
of copyright enforcement because of a pandemic?

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sigmaprimus
Now that this has happened, does it open the door for publishers to sue
individuals who access and download these books? Similar to what happened with
the recording industry?

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sushid
No, those sued by the recording industry were sued for distributing
copyrighted material.

