In a significant legal battle, Sony Music Entertainment and five other major music companies have filed a lawsuit against the non-profit Internet Archive. They are accusing the organization of committing "wholesale theft" by posting thousands of copyrighted songs and recordings online without permission. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, alleges that the Internet Archive's actions amount to blatant infringement and have caused immense financial harm to the music industry.
The record companies, including Sony, UMG Recordings Inc., Capitol Records LLC, Concord Bicycle Assets LLC, CMGI Recorded Music Assets LLC, and Arista Music, claim that the Internet Archive has illegally posted works by some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, such as Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, and Thelonious Monk. They have provided a list of 2,749 recordings as evidence, including Bing Crosby's rendition of "White Christmas," which they consider to be just a fraction of the unauthorized content shared by the archive.
The plaintiffs are seeking a court order to remove all copyrighted material from the Internet Archive and are demanding damages up to $150,000 for each infringed work. If successful, the damages for the listed recordings alone could reach a staggering $372 million.
The Internet Archive is known for maintaining a vast digital collection of various media, including text, video, and music. On its Great 78 Project website, the organization allows users to upload and access digitized copies of old records in the 78 LP format. While the Internet Archive claims that its purpose is the preservation, research, and discovery of 78rpm records, the record companies argue that this is merely a smokescreen to hide its theft.
According to the music labels, these recordings are already available for streaming or downloading through authorized services and face no risk of being lost, forgotten, or destroyed. The record companies emphasize that the Internet Archive's actions undermine the efforts made by the music industry to protect and monetize copyrighted works.
This lawsuit comes after the U.S. Congress passed the Music Modernization Act in 2018, extending copyright protection for pre-1972 music until 2067. The music labels are now hoping that the court will hold the Internet Archive accountable for its alleged copyright infringement and address the financial harm caused by the unauthorized sharing of copyrighted material online.
The Internet Archive has yet to respond to the lawsuit, and the outcome of this legal battle will have significant implications for the digital preservation and accessibility of copyrighted works in the future.