March 24, 2023, saw the release of the District Court ruling in Hatchette Book Group v. Internet Archive, the long running battle between several book publishers and the Internet Archive over the practice of “Controlled Digital Lending.” The concept of CDL was made up out of thin air. It appears nowhere in the Copyright Act. It was dreamed up to give the Internet Archive the patina of legitimacy as a self-stylized “library.” Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., explains the Court's rather decisive ruling that CDL is not legal and never has been. As the Court ruled “[N]o case or legal principle supports that notion. Every authority points in the other direction.”
