Why did the Internet Archive get sued for offering free books in the national emergency library?

Online content providers should be aware that copyright infringement can still be asserted even under unprecedented effects associated with the current pandemic. Since the COVID-19 emergency shut down brick and mortar libraries, the establishment of the national emergency library to support and encourage books and reading backfired on the Internet Archive because:

• it significantly expanded its offerings to include materials that are still under copyright protection;

• the offerings created a new free source for students who must rely on remote learning, cutting the potential for profit from the rightful copyright owners; and

• the free offerings of the copyrighted works created widespread infringement due to the pandemic’s closure of brick-and-mortar institutions.   

Read about why the Internet Archive got sued for establishing the national emergency library and offering free books during the pandemic.