The Society of Authors is among over twenty organisations to sign an amicus (‘friend of the court’) brief contesting the unauthorised scanning and distribution of books through Internet Archive’s Open Library platform .

The brief was filed today by our American sister organisation, the Authors Guild, in the lawsuit taken by Hachette against the Internet Archive. It details how Open Library harms authors and the hugely damaging effect it will have on the markets upon which authors depend if it is not terminated.

We believe that the arguments put forward will help convince the court to rule against Internet Archive’s piracy.

• Read our statement of 18 July in support of the publishers’ action (also details what you should do if you find your books have been uploaded to Open Library)
• Read the Authors Guild’s statement