Video Event | Is COVID-19 a Legal Basis to Weaken Copyright Law?

**Please be advised: This event will be premiering at 12:00 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, May 13.**

The Internet Archive provides many services, including an online library. Until recently, the Internet Archive’s library services operated similarly to that of a public library. It had a fixed inventory of titles—some with one copy, others with multiple copies. A user could check out a title if there was a copy available for a fixed time period. If no copies of the book were available, the user could sign up for a waiting list until a copy was returned and became available.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet Archive has allowed an unlimited number of simultaneous copies of works to be "signed out," regardless of how many legitimate copies are in its library. This unauthorized pirating and copying of works directly harms the uncompensated authors and publishers. The Internet Archive claims the copyright doctrine of "fair use" permits this new copying as a "flexible" way to "adjust to changing circumstances," but some experts have expressed doubts about this claim. Does COVID-19 change the standards of the "fair use" doctrine?

Join Hudson Institute for a conversation with Steven Tepp, an internationally recognized copyright thought leader, who will analyze the Internet Archive’s “fair use” claim. The conversation will be moderated by Hudson Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth.