The Internet Archive has reached a settlement with Sony and other music companies, ending the copyright infringement lawsuit against the "Great 78 Project"
The copyright lawsuit filed against the Internet Archive in 2023 by Sony Music, Universal Music Group (UMG), and several other music labels has now come to an end. Both parties recently filed documents with the court confirming a settlement and expect to formally withdraw the lawsuit within 45 days. While details of the agreement have not been disclosed, the Internet Archive stated in an official blog post that both parties have reached a confidentiality agreement regarding all disputes and will not make any further comments. The focus of the lawsuit: The "Great 78 Project" At the heart of the lawsuit was the Internet Archive's "Great 78 Project." This project aimed to digitize and preserve nostalgic songs and music recorded on vinyl records at 78 rpm, including recordings of American singers such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, and Louis Armstrong, and make them available online. The original lawsuit targeted 2749 recordings, later expanding to 4142, including classic songs such as "White Christmas," "Sing, Sing, Sing," and "The Christmas Song." The record company argued that these tracks were not at risk of being "lost, forgotten, or destroyed" because they had been sold and licensed for playback through various streaming services; therefore, the Internet Archive's public sharing constituted unauthorized infringement. If the court ultimately rules in favor of the record company, the Internet Archive could face damages of up to $150,000 per track, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. This is not the first time the Internet Archive has faced copyright litigation. Previously, the Internet Archive faced a lawsuit from several publishers for offering 1.4 million ebooks free of charge through its "National Emergency Library" service launched during the pandemic, and ultimately lost. The court ruled that the service did not comply with fair use principles and ordered its cessation. This settlement signifies that the Internet Archive has chosen to avoid further legal risks in the face of music copyright litigation. However, this move has also raised concerns about how future academic, historical, and music archiving projects will strike a balance between public interest and copyright protection. The tug-of-war between public archives and copyright protection...