Is it actually copyright free? How can such a large library of downloadable content come without any issues? Do they contact all the owners of the footage/work and they release it to them? Am I able to then use any of it in my own projects?
In: 297
Archive.org uses webcrawlers to make archival copies of websites and their content. ‘Archival’ means ‘for the purpose of permanent long term preservation, description, and access’. Libraries and archives have the right to collect copyrighted work as well as create archival copies of the work. That doesn’t mean they can make it available to the public automatically. The Internet Archive abides by copyright guidelines as they apply to the content in their collection. All digitized books for example, are only available if they are in the public domain (ie. no longer under copyright).
However, unlike brick and mortar libraries, the Internet Archive wants to lend digitized versions of copyrighted works. This isn’t a new concept – it’s called ‘Controlled Digital Lending’ and the idea is that libraries are adapting to how media is produced in the 21st century. Libraries and archives have been developing this framework for a while now. It’s the next logical step in providing access to information as a public service.
So any archive can store material. They can also alter the format (ie. digitize) of things they have purchased with the goal of long term preservation. They can’t freely distribute copies though. They can still only loan only the number of copies they purchased. They do not need approval from the copyright holders to do this. It’s protected by law. This is called ‘Fair Use’ and is intended to be a guideline for how libraries and archives can legally operate. But Hachette v. Internet Archive will determine whether or not to include CDL (controlled digital lending) as a legitimate extension of Fair Use
Latest Answers