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By November 2025, the Internet Archive had resolved two major copyright disputes, but the end of the lawsuits did not restore what had disappeared from its Open Library. Ars Technica reported that more than 500,000 books had been removed after the publisher case. Founder Brewster Kahle summed up the cost this way: “We survived,” he told Ars. “But it wiped out the Library.”
What happened in the two copyright cases
The disputes involved different collections and ended in different ways. The book-publishers case produced a court ruling against the Archive; the Great 78 Project dispute was reported as settled. Those outcomes should not be conflated.
| Dispute | What was challenged | Outcome reported |
|---|---|---|
| Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, John Wiley & Sons, and Penguin Random House v. Internet Archive | The Archive’s scanning and online lending of 127 copyrighted books through its Free Digital Library and Open Libraries Project, as identified in the Second Circuit’s September 4, 2024 opinion. | The Second Circuit affirmed the judgment against the Archive on September 4, 2024. In a December 4, 2024 post, Internet Archive Director of Library Services Chris Freeland said the Archive would not seek Supreme Court review. The monetary terms of the Archive’s agreement with publishers were not disclosed, according to Ars Technica’s November 3, 2025 report. |
| Great 78 Project dispute | The Archive’s digitization of old shellac records. Ars Technica reported that the project had digitized 400,000 records. | Ars Technica reported that the case settled in October 2025. The music publishers had sought up to $700 million in damages, but the settlement’s monetary terms were confidential. |
What the book ruling did—and did not—decide
The Second Circuit’s decision addressed the Archive’s challenged practice in the record before it: scanning entire copyrighted books and distributing the complete digital copies online without authorization. The court rejected the Archive’s fair-use defense, reasoning that the digital copies served the same reading purpose as the books and could substitute for them.
That holding is specific to the books, program, and practices considered in Hachette Book Group, Inc. v. Internet Archive, No. 23-1260. It is not a blanket ruling that every digitization project, library preservation effort, or controlled digital lending model is unlawful. Copyright lawyer Brandon Butler, executive director of Re:Create, told Ars that “Fair use is a case-by-case determination” as preservation needs arise. That is an advocate’s view of how future questions may be assessed, not a modification of the court’s decision.
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Why Kahle says the loss went beyond borrowing
Ars reported that more than 500,000 books were removed from Open Library following the publisher litigation. The exact availability of any individual title can change, so the reported total does not establish whether a particular book is currently accessible through the catalog.
Kahle described the Archive’s aim as supporting research as well as reading. “One of the real purposes of libraries is not just access to information by borrowing a book that you might buy in a bookstore,” he told Ars. “In fact, that’s actually the minority. Usually, you’re comparing and contrasting things. You’re quoting. You’re checking. You’re standing on the shoulders of giants.” Ars also described project goals that included making scans easier to reference through Wikipedia.
That account explains why Kahle sees the removals as a loss to the library’s research function. It does not change the court’s conclusion about the challenged lending practice or establish a judicial finding that the Archive’s asserted research benefits outweighed the market effects.
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Ars Technica used that framing in its November 3, 2025 report. It reported that the Archive then faced no major lawsuits or active threats to its collections, citing a spokesperson. That is a status statement reported at that time, not a guarantee against future litigation or a comprehensive legal assessment for later dates.
The book-case decision became final for the Archive when it chose not to ask the Supreme Court to review it. In his December 4, 2024 announcement, Freeland wrote: “While we are deeply disappointed with the Second Circuit’s opinion in Hachette v. Internet Archive, the Internet Archive has decided not to pursue Supreme Court review.” He also said the Archive would continue honoring its agreement with the Association of American Publishers to remove books from lending when member publishers request it.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the Archive said it would do next
Kahle described plans to expand Democracy’s Library, a free, open online collection of government research and publications, and to collect physical materials for preservation. He also spoke of the Archive as a possible refuge for collections displaced elsewhere. These were stated intentions, not completed outcomes; Ars noted uncertainty about the support libraries would provide and the Archive’s future.
The organization continued to mark other work during this period. Ars reported that, at its October 2025 celebration of the Wayback Machine’s trillionth webpage, the Archive cited more than 1,200 library partners and 800,000 daily users. Those figures describe the Archive’s broader reach, not the availability or legal status of Open Library books.
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Sources
- Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, November 3, 2025, “Internet Archive’s legal fights are over, but its founder mourns what was lost.”
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, September 4, 2024, Hachette Book Group, Inc. v. Internet Archive, No. 23-1260.
- Chris Freeland, Internet Archive, December 4, 2024, “End of Hachette v. Internet Archive.”
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