<
https://www.engadget.com/sony-and-other-music-labels-sue-internet-archive-for-digitizing-old-records-110108988.html>
"The Internet Archive is facing another lawsuit over one of its conservation
projects. Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and a handful of
other music labels have filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit organization,
accusing it of copyright infringement for digitizing, "willfully upload[ing],
distribut[ing] and digitally transmitt[ing]" pre-1972 sound recordings. In
particular, the labels are suing Internet Archive for the Great 78 Project,
which seeks to preserve music recorded on 78rpm discs.
The labels call Internet Archive's efforts "blatant infringement," involving
music by artists that include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday,
Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong. They also listed a few examples of "iconic
recordings" available through the Great 78 Project, such as
White Christmas,
Sing, Sing, Sing, and
The Christmas Song.
The companies said the the songs preserved on the project website are already
available through streaming and other music services, so they "face no danger
of being lost, forgotten, or destroyed." But the organization explained on the
project portal that there's "still research value in the artifacts and usage
evidence in the often rare 78rpm discs and recordings."
The plaintiffs disagree, writing in their complaint that Internet Archive's
activities "far exceed" the limited purposes of preservation and research.
"Internet Archive unabashedly seeks to provide free and unlimited access to
music for everyone, regardless of copyright," they added. The labels are asking
statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each protected sound recording, and
that could add up to $372 million for the listed recordings, according to
Bloomberg.
Internet Archive is also embroiled in a legal battle with a group of US
publishers led by Hachette Book Group over the National Emergency Library. The
organization lent out digitally scanned copies of books through the program
during the height of the pandemic, which the publishers described as "willful
mass copyright infringement." A federal judge ruled against Internet Archive
for that particular case, though the organization is planning to appeal that
decision."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
