Stuff.co NZ reports
Authors and publishers have asked the Attorney-General to investigate the legality of the partnership between the National Library and the Internet Archive ahead of a looming New York court case which could see the archive cease to operate.
A trial, for which no date had yet been set, sees global publishing giants Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House and Wiley take on the archive, which earlier this year was announced as the recipient of 600,000 books from the National Library’s overseas published collection.
Jenny Nagle, chief executive of the Society of Authors, said there was no evidence the National Library conducted adequate legal work “that would be expected of a government agency” before signing its agreement with the United States-based Internet Archive, particularly with regard to copyright.
The Publishers Association and Society of Authors believe the deal to be in breach of copyright law, and fear no certain future for the books if the archive is ordered to close.
“The National Library appears intent on putting the Internet Archive first, and New Zealand’s authors, publishers and creative sector last,” said Graeme Cosslett, president of the Publishers Association.
“This illegal agreement is no longer an ‘operational matter’ for the library, but rather one of its wider relationship to New Zealand’s authors, publishers and creative sector. As such, we will soon be engaging with the Minister [of Internal Affairs], with all options on the table.”
Court documents outline the publishing giants’ case against the archive, which is alleged to be engaged in wilful mass copyright infringement “without any licence [or] … payment to authors or publishers”.
If the archive was found in breach of copyright, “the justifications of the National Library for giving away our international research collections will be invalidated”, said Michael Pringle, spokesman for the advocacy group Book Guardians Aotearoa.
But some copyright experts have cast doubt on whether controlled digital lending – which the archive argues it’s engaged in – equates to piracy, pointing to failed historical court attempts to overturn the digitisation and sharing of books online.
Pringle said it was concerning the library did not seek Crown Law Office advice on the agreement before entering it. “It certainly is a breakdown [of communication],” he said. “People feel burnt and bruised.”
National Librarian Rachel Esson said the donation agreement was legally binding, and the library had been in discussions with Copyright Licensing New Zealand over the deal since October 2020. There was an opt-out of the donation for authors/copyright holders before the books were due to be donated.
Read the full article at https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/126365119/attorneygeneral-asked-to-investigate-national-libraryinternet-archive-deal
