Press conference statement: Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law

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On the other hand, when we invited economists from Northeastern University and the University of Copenhagen to look at the sales and library lending data produced in this case, they came to a singular conclusion: The Internet Archive’s digital lending had no measurable effect on the market whatsoever.

Never in the history of the United States have libraries needed to obtain special permission or to pay license fees to lend the books they already own. Sure, publishers would profit from the ability to demand such fees, but the law does not give them that right.

We look forward to the court reaffirming the essential role of library lending, now in our digital world.

Thank you.

Posted in News | 3 Replies
Posted onMarch 20, 2023 by Chris Freeland
Lawrence Lessig is a professor of law at Harvard Law. Lawrence spoke at phone number library the press conference hosted by Internet Archive ahead of oral argument in Hachette v. Internet Archive.


Statement

Also available at Lessig for the Internet Archive on Medium.

We should all recognize — and celebrate—the importance of commercial publishing, for authors and creators everywhere. Commercial publishing creates the income that authors depend upon to have the freedom to create great new works. Without commercial publishing, much of the greatest that will be won’t be written.

But we must also recognize that culture needs more than commercial publishing. If the business model of commercial publishing controlled our access to our past, then much of who we were, and much of how we learned to be better, would simply disappear.