The NWU presented a public informational webinar on “What is the Internet Archive doing with our books?” on April 27 and May 5, 2020. The webinar explains “Controlled Digital Lending”, the “National Emergency Library”, and “One Web Page for Every Page of Every Book”:
- Video of webinar
- Slides from webinar
- Explainer: What is the Internet Archive doing with our books?
- We Need Federal Funding for Distance Learning, During the Pandemic — and After
Announcement and follow-up articles from the NWU and affiliated organizations:
- NWU denounces Controlled Digital Lending; National Writers Union calls for dialogue with libraries on Internet Archive book-scanning (February 13, 2019; download news release as PDF)
- ASMP Joins Coalition to Oppose Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) (American Society of Media Photographers, February 13, 2019)
- Response to our appeal and FAQ from proponents of “Controlled Digital Lending” (March 26, 2019)
- Resolution introduced by the NWU and adopted by the World Congress of the International Federation of Journalists (June 2019)
- Resolution adopted by the World Congress of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (November 2019)
- Internet Archive removes controls on “lending” of bootleg e-books (March 24, 2020)
- What is the Internet Archive doing with our books? (April 16, 2020)
- IFJ renews calls to end unlawful practices based on the flawed theory of “Controlled Digital Lending” (July 9, 2020)
- Copyright Violation Redux: The Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, “Writer Beware”, March 31, 2020)
- National Emergency Library Closes, But Open Library Continues to Infringe Copyrights (Graphic Artists Guild, June 20, 2020)
- Federal Judge Rules Internet Archive Infringes Authors’ and Publishers’ Copyrights (March 26, 2023)
- What is Controlled Digital Lending (CDL)?
- According to the FAQ about Controlled Digital Lending issued by the NWU and other organizations, “CDL is neither ‘controlled’ nor ‘lending. It’s a scheme for the production and distribution of inferior, unauthorized bootleg e-book editions of printed books.” The Internet Archive has scanned and is distributing unauthorized copies of hundreds of thousands of books, and is scanning another thousand books every day. Read more from the FAQ:
- What is the position of the NWU on CDL?
- See the “Appeal to readers and librarians from the victims of CDL” co-signed by the NWU and other national and international organizations:
- Is “Controlled Digital Lending” the only way that the Internet Archive is distributing copies of scanned books?
- No. Unauthorized copies of each page of each book scanned by the Internet Archive are distributed in five different ways, including “One Web Page for Every Page of Every Book”, as explained here:
- What is the Internet Archive doing with our books? (April 20, 2020)
- Webinar on “What is the Internet Archive doing with our books?”:
- Are there ways other than piracy to provide distance learning materials during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- Yes. We have some suggestions here:
- What is the position of the NWU regarding “e-lending” by libraries?
- See the NWU statement, NWU Supports Librarians’ Objections to Publishers’ E-Book Licensing Terms (October 5, 2012)
- What is the NWU doing about this?
- See the Appeal, this announcement of our campaign against CDL, and the articles from our blog listed above.
- How can I find out if a book which I wrote or to which I contributed has been scanned and is being distributed by the Internet Archive under CDL?
- Search this catalog and look for listings with a button that says “Borrow.” All you have to do is sign up for a free Internet Archive account to view or download scanned images of any of these books.
- What can I do about this?
- If you are an NWU member, contact the NWU Grievance and Contract Committee for advice and assistance.
- What else can NWU members do to help with this campaign?
- Tell other writers what’s happening. Tell your readers, fans, friends, and family that if they are reading e-books from OpenLibrary.org, they are reading pirate editions for which writers like you have not been paid. Talk to the librarians you know about how this is diverting readers from legitimate digital versions, and undermining writers’ incomes. Contact the NWU Book Division if you’d like to help with this campaign.
- I’m not an NWU member yet. How can I help?
- Please consider joining the NWU and the fight for writers’ rights. Our strength lies in the solidarity of writers in all genres and all media.
- Press coverage of this campaign against CDL:
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- Publishers Weekly: Publisher, Author Groups Protest Library Book Scanning Program (Andrew Albanese, February 14, 2019)
- Books and Publishing: Writers union joins protest against ‘controlled digital lending’ (February 25, 2019)
- Forbes: The Open Library Now Faces The National Writers Union (Ellen Duffer, February 25, 2019)
- Actualitte.com: Une quarantaine d’organisations dénonce le prêt numérique contrôlé (Antoine Oury, March 1, 2019)
- IPWatchdog: Controlled Digital Lending Thwarts Democratic Process and Rights of Authors (Devlin Hartline, August 30, 2021)
Additional discussion of “Controlled Digital Lending” and the Internet Archive’s “National Emergency Library”:
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- NWU: Internet Archive removes controls on “lending” of bootleg e-books (March 24, 2020)
- Publishers Weekly: Authors Guild, AAP Outraged by IA’s ‘National Emergency Library (Andrew Albanese, March 30, 2020)
- Publishers Weekly: Internet Archive Responds, Says National Emergency Library Is Legal (Andrew Albanese, March 30, 2020)
- New York Times: ‘Emergency’ Online Library Draws Ire of Some Authors (Alexandra Alter, March 30, 2020)
- The Guardian: Internet Archive accused of using Covid-19 as ‘an excuse for piracy’ (Alison Flood, March 30, 2020)
- Writer Beware: Copyright Violation Redux: The Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library (Victoria Strauss, March 31, 2020)
- Terrible Minds:My Statement To NPR On The Internet Archive’s Emergency Library (Chuck Wendig, March 31, 2020)
- Copyright and Technology: The Internet Archive’s Copyright Emergency (Bill Rosenblatt, April 1, 2020)
- Plagiarism Today: The Controversy Over the National Emergency Library (Jonathan Bailey, April 2, 2020)
- net.wars: Uncontrolled Digital Unlending (Wendy Grossman, April 2, 2020)
- Authors Guild: The Pandemic Is Not an Excuse to Exploit Writers (Op-Ed by , New York Times, April 6, 2020)
- Medium: Internet Archives & the Emergency Library: How to Love Books & Hate Authors Without Really Trying (Neil Turkewitz, April 7, 2020)
- Hudson Institute: A Legal Analysis of Making Copyrighted Works Available Online During the Coronavirus Crisis (Steven Tepp, April 16, 2020)
- Hudson Institute online event with Steven Tepp: Is COVID-19 a Legal Basis to Weaken Copyright Law?
- International Authors Forum: Authors respond to Internet Archive’s so-called “Emergency Library” (April 30, 2020)
- Graphic Artists Guild: National Emergency Library Closes, But Open Library Continues to Infringe Copyrights (June 20, 2020)
- Online Searcher: Controlled Digital Lending: Legal Lending or Piracy? (Marydee Ojala, January/February 2021)
- Medium: The Internet Archive’s [Un]Controlled Digital Lending: The Not Good, The Bad & The Ugly (Neil Turkewitz, July 8, 2022)
- Plagiarism Today: Why the Internet Archive Lost (Jonathan Bailey, March 27, 2023)
- The Scholarly Kitchen: The Internet Archive Loses on Controlled Digital Lending (March 28, 2023)
- Wired: The Internet Archive’s Literary Civil War (Kate Knibbs, March 31, 2023)
- Please, librarians, now can we finally talk? (Edward Hasbrouck’s blog, March 31, 2023)
- Legal and governmental challenges to CDL:
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- Hachette et al. v. Internet Archive U.S. District Court, S.D. NY):
- Federal Judge Rules Internet Archive Infringes Authors’ and Publishers’ Copyrights (March 26, 2023)
- Publishers Sue the Internet Archive for Scanning Books (June 1, 2020)
- Authors Object to the Internet Archive’s Book Piracy (August 16, 2022)
- Docket and links to legal documents
- Complaint
- Statement by the Association of American Publishers (June 1, 2020)
- U.S. District Court decision in favor of publishers and against the Internet Archive (March 24, 2023)
- S. Fischer Verlage (Oberlandesgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany):
- US-Internet-Plattform haftet für noch nicht gemeinfreie Werke (Initiative Urheberrecht, May 3, 2019)
- Internationale Internet-Plattform für literarische Werke haftet für Urheberrechtsverletzung von in Deutschland noch nicht gemeinfreien Werken (press release from German court, OLG Frankfurt)
- Text of preliminary ruling by German court in lawsuit by S. Fischer Verlage (April 30, 2019)
- Analysis of the “National Emergency Library” by the U.S. Copyright Office (May 15, 2020)
- Letter to the Internet Archive from Sen. Thom Tillis, Chair, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judicary (April 8, 2020)
- Questions asked in the Senate of Canada (March 21, 2019)
- Hachette et al. v. Internet Archive U.S. District Court, S.D. NY):
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