Online library drops its legal battle to provide free e-books without publishers’ permission

AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A prolonged and closely watched copyright case involving an online library’s unauthorized offering of free e-books has ended after the Internet Archive decided not to fight an appeal’s court’s ruling against it. In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had upheld a lower-court decision that found the Archive in violation of copyright law and granted a permanent injunction. The Archive had until this week to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but declined to do so. In 2020, four major publishers sued the Archive, alleging that it had illegally provided free copies of more than 100 books, including fiction by Toni Morrison and J.D. Salinger.