Reminder on removing your books from the Internet Archive

25.08.21

Recently, we reported on our objections to the National Library of New Zealand’s plan to donate thousands of books from its Overseas Published Collection to the Internet Archive. 

As we’ve said previously, we consider the Internet Archive to facilitate copyright infringement; it scans around 3,500 books per day according to its website and many of those are still in-copyright. Those digitised copies are then freely available for borrowing by users all around the world, including Australia. 

By undertaking this activity without either seeking permission or providing fair payment to the creators, Internet Archive is undermining legitimate ebooks sales and standard library practices. The ASA supports the condemnation of Internet Archive by international publishers and authors’ groups including The Authors Guild (US), the Society of Authors (UK), and the New Zealand Society of Authors.

We’d like to remind authors and illustrators that if you find your book freely available on the Internet Archive’s Open Library without the permission of you or your publisher or distributor, you can try to have your books removed by emailing the Internet Archive Copyright Agent at: info@archive.org and identifying:

• your copyrighted work;
• an exact description of where the material about which you complain is located within the Internet Archive collections;
• your address, telephone number, and email address;
• a statement by you that you have a good-faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
• a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the owner of the copyright interest involved or are authorized to act on behalf of that owner; and
• your electronic or physical signature.

Recently we have heard from ASA members who have successfully had their books removed from free circulation.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please get in contact with us by emailing comms@asauthors.org