<
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/09/internet-archives-big-battle-with-music-publishers-ends-in-settlement/>
'A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit where music publishers sued the
Internet Archive over the Great 78 Project, an effort to preserve early music
recordings that only exist on brittle shellac records.
No details of the settlement have so far been released, but a court filing on
Monday confirmed that the Internet Archive and UMG Recordings, Capitol Records,
Sony Music Entertainment, and other record labels "have settled this matter."
More details may come in the next 45 days, when parties must submit filings to
officially dismiss the lawsuit, but it's unlikely the settlement amount will be
publicly disclosed.
Days before the settlement was announced, record labels had indicated that
everyone but the Internet Archive and its founder, Brewster Kahle, had agreed
to sign a joint settlement, seemingly including the Great 78 Project's
recording engineer George Blood, who was also a target of the litigation. But
in the days since, IA has gotten on board, posting a blog confirming that "the
parties have reached a confidential resolution of all claims and will have no
further public comment on this matter."
For IA—which strove to digitize 3 million recordings to help historians
document recording history—the lawsuit from music publishers could have meant
financial ruin. Initially, record labels alleged that damages amounted to $400
million, claiming they lost streams when IA visitors played Great 78
recordings.
But despite IA arguing that there were comparably low downloads and streams on
the Great 78 recordings—as well as a music publishing industry vet suggesting
that damages were likely no more than $41,000—the labels intensified their
attacks in March. In a court filing, the labels added so many more infringing
works that the estimated damages increased to $700 million. It seemed like
labels were intent on doubling down on a fight that, at least one sound
historian suggested, the labels might one day regret.
Notably, the settlement comes after IA previously lost a court fight with book
publishers last year, where IA could have faced substantial damages. In that
fight, IA accused book publishers of being unable to prove that IA's emergency
library had hurt their sales. But book publishers, represented by the same
legal team as music labels, ultimately won that fight and negotiated a judgment
that similarly included an undisclosed payment.
With both legal battles likely ending in undisclosed payments, it seems likely
we'll never know the true cost to the digital library of defending its
digitization projects.'
Copyright terms are way too long. They need to be shorter than the lifespan of
the physical media. These works should have been out of copyright already.
Via David.
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
