Before I let the topic of these state ebook lending bills go for a bit, there is one aspect of this story that should not be overlooked. I was thinking about it when I saw a tweet criticizing Governor Hochul’s December 30th veto of the New York version of the bill. Media professional and professor Dan Gillmor, who has over ...

Yesterday, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed A5837, the eBook lending bill, which is almost identical to bills in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maryland. The Maryland law, set to take effect on the first of the new year, triggered litigation by the American Association of Publishers (AAP), primarily on the basis that these bills are unconstitutional, preempted by federal ...

During a recent scan of the Authors Guild discussion boards, where I look for copyright related comments, I noticed a couple of authors mentioning how dismayed they were to hear the NPR show 1A host a one-sided conversation about the Internet Archive being sued by several major publishers. The program, which aired on December 7, hosted Internet Archive founder Brewster ...

IA has made great progress on its mission to foster innovation, promote economic growth, and empower people through a free and open internet. As this chapter closes, member companies remain committed to advancing public policy in support of this mission and will continue to work with stakeholders in other capacities. – Board of Directors Statement on IA’s Future – Thus spake ...

“Remarkably, the Maryland Act subjects publishers to civil and criminal liability for attempting to exercise their exclusive rights in the very manner envisioned by the federal statute.” – Complaint in AAP v. Attorney General of the State of Maryland. It is inherent to the exclusive rights of the Copyright Act that authors may decide the manner in which their works ...

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