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Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

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Re: Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

#111
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly.

Yes, there are a number of warehouses with millions of books in boxes, indexed down to the book (hence the metadata of a book has a physical location in it).

I believe there was an only-half-joking plan to drop shipping containers of books to the bottom of the Bay, which would avoid the need to pay for storage on land. (Want to check the book is really there? Here's a snorkel...)

Or, in other words, Rai Stone coins, but books. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones

Re: Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

#112
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm disappointed with Internet Archive. They're opening themselves up to a huge lawsuit, and I'd hate to see their mission derailed because of it. Not only that - if this goes to court, there's a really good chance that the concept of Controlled Digital Lending (i.e., libraries lending out scans backed one-to-one by physical books, which many libraries including Internet Archive have been doing for a long time befo…

"Not only that - if this goes to court ..." They gave authors the ability to opt out. From the FAQ: "If I am an author and I do not want my book to be temporarily available during this crisis, how can I remove my book from the National Emergency Library? Authors who do not want their books in the National Emergency Library should send an email to info@archive.org with “National Emergency Library Removal Request” as t…

One could argue it should be an opt-in firstly. I find that difficult for creating the same service but just.

Re: Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

#113
post #84
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Understood. Since you're knowledgeable: this goes back to some other portion of copyright law, yes? Are copyright holders required to sue in order to force the alleged infringer to cease infringement? In the process of the suit, when might an alleged infringer be forced to take down the material in question? And under what circumstances would they claim damages versus a simple takedown (if, for example, the work in q…

I think the mechanics of how to actually take down content is getting pretty far past my knowledge but I suspect this falls in the general category of "people still have the free will to break the law" and isn't about copyright law particularly. The takedown process is specific to the DMCA's concept of online service providers - YouTube keeps its safe harbor as long as it promptly responds to takedown notices (and co…

I’m not fluent enough in legalese, apparently. Is that $750-30k per infringer or $750-30k per copy? For a website, that’s a huge difference as every visitor initiates a new copying event. (As opposed to something like a printing press where you can strike off 10k copies in a single go).

Re: Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

#115

And how much different is books from movies being streamed on Netflix ???. It is time for the publishing industry and novelists to get with the times and adopt a new model.

They tried this, it was called Kindle Unlimited and it turned out to be terrible for most authors.

Re: Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

#116
post #57
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, they're renting games that aren't widely available for purchase anymore? At what point do we sit back and agree that it makes no sense to extend protections to IP that isn't being sold anymore? Forgive my possible naivety here, but we grant patents/copyrights/trademarks to mitigate opportunity costs in markets, not to stop someone else from taking credit for an idea. So, if there's no continuous market, the risk…

The problem is that for game ROMs specifically, opening them to the public domain devalues potential opportunities for re-releases and remasters. The Nintendo virtual console service and S/NES classic are prominent examples. So it isn't so simple that there is "no harm done" by forcing game ROMs to fall into public domain. That all being said, I still agree with you. I really don't care how much money Nintendo, Micro…

That idea isn't radical, it's laughably naive.

Re: Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

#117

Anyone know which authors have opted out? It would be interesting to hear their reasons why in their own words.

I am an author with three books on there, and I've just emailed them to opt out. One reason authors are fine with libraries lending out their books for free, electronically or otherwise, is that borrowing a library copy is always a little bit less convenient than buying your own – with waits for availability and so on – which gives readers an incentive to pay if they can afford it. Once the library experience is almost indistinguishable from the paid experience, there is no reason for anyone to pay except as a kind of donation to the author. Yes, some generous people will choose to do this, but others won't, and we lose sales.

I am a mid-list author. I am not so successful that I will do fine whatever happens, nor am I so unsuccessful that writing is just a weekend hobby for me. Like many authors, writing is my career, but it's on a knife edge, and every sale counts. I've sat for an hour at a signing table just to sell four books, and I would again.

I spent five years working on my last book. People complain about 'legacy publishers', but I couldn't have done that without the support of a legacy publisher. Everything that further chips away at my sales reduces the chances that my publisher will be able to support me in the future, and so it reduces the chances that I will be able to put that same time and effort into another book. By 'liberating' the literature of today, these people are strangling the literature of the future.

Re: Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

#118
post #38

Here we go again, more hair-trigger bitching and whining from The Authors Guild and its ilk. No matter how noble or justified the cause for copying may be, the poor little darlings just can't help themselves. They've been screaming and whinging over being supposedly hard done by with respect to copyright royalties even before that arch villain, bully and saint to copyright owners, Victor Hugo, bulldozed unfair change…

But, but, but...Neil Gaiman will starve to death! https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22731637

This isn't really about Neil Gaiman, this is about the vast majority of small-time authors who work incredibly hard for every sale and who rely on paying readers to be able to continue with their careers.

Re: Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Declaring this "pro-social" doesn't suddenly make it legal. It's clearly not any more legal then lending out a single copy of a DVD to one million people via BitTorrent. I get that it seems generous to give away these works. But they simply weren't theirs to give away to begin with. If you want to lend out 1,000 copies of book, first you have to buy 1,000 copies of said book. I'm disappointed with Internet Archive. T…

Authors think they're better than musicians it seems.. .

Actually as an author I am very sympathetic to what happened to musicians and I desperately hope it doesn't happen to us too.

Re: Internet Archive responds: Why we released the National Emergency Library

#120

This response by the Internet Archive focuses on easily refutable claims, such as that they acquired their books illegally, while sidestepping the one substantive issue: that they had no legal right to replace the controlled digital lending process that they had been following with uncontrolled lending. This is what so many authors and publishers are objecting to; and they are right to point out that this resembles s…

I was curious about your mention of authors and publishers complaining, since I hadn't seen any objections yet.

This led me to complaints by The Authors Guild[1] (as detailed in an article by The Guardian[2]) and three other authors mentioned in an NPR article[3]. Since then I've also discovered a statement by the Association of American Publishers[4] linked from the HN submission.

Some of the focus is on the revenue that authors make from their publications and some of it is on the legality of making the content more accessible.

It is worth reading the original HN submission link, as it contains some useful clarifications around the way the National Emergency Library operates; including, for example, that access to content is on a 2-week loan basis and requires the content to be checked-out from the library

The Internet Archive have also updated their National Emergency Library FAQ[5] in response to the debate.

It'd be good to discover whether the National Emergency Library ends up increasing awareness and access to publications temporarily, and whether they will collect and distribute any funds after-the-fact based on readership.

[1] - https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/internet-arch...

[2] - https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/30/internet-archi...

[3] - https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=823797545

[4] - https://publishers.org/news/comment-from-aap-president-and-c...

[5] - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QjErbouWG7pUlzcxPcRk4YEt...

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