National Book Month 2024: IBPA’s View of Copyright Law
In celebration of National Book Month 2024, Copyright Alliance member, the Independent Book Publishers Association, offers its perspectives of why strong copyright protections are important to their ability to create and disseminate literary works for the public to enjoy.
The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is the national association that represents over 3500 independent book publishers in the United States. Mary Jo (MJ) Courchesne is a member of IBPA’s Board of Directors, IBPA’s Legislation and Standards Committee, as well as principal of Gryphon Publishing Consulting, a company that works with publishers on permissions and licensing matters. In this article, MJ highlights some of the current issues that challenge indie publishers today and their ability to create and contribute to the literary community at large.
The Evolving World of Independent Book Publishing
Most publishers are excited by the opportunity to bring their books to readers any where, any time, and in any format that the reader would like to access that book, as long as the copyright of that material remains protected, the original sale of the book can be tracked, and authors and publishers are being fairly compensated. Every technological advancement in the publishing industry presents both opportunities for publishers to be more nimble and better able to reach a global audience while at the same time creating potential threats to copyright. When the publishing industry began so long ago, the book’s fully analog state made it easier for publishers to track and protect copyright as they were better able to control the content, the software (or analog tools used to produce the book), and hardware (or the physical object of the book).
Today, as books appear in many forms and formats outside of the original book container, it is exceedingly difficult for publishers to track, protect, and be compensated for their copyrighted material as it travels the globe. Additionally, the last two decades have presented major advancements in the discoverability and access to book content, revolutionizing how content is consumed. The ability to track copyrighted content disproportionately effects independent publishers (which include author-publishers), because they have fewer resources, higher costs, lower margins, and less access to tools that assist in tracking and protecting their copyright.
IBPA’s Commitment to Copyright Laws for Publishers
Publishers are rightly concerned about copyright as it is foundational to their livelihood, and IBPA members look to the organization for information and guidance to protect their copyrights. While there remain some publishers who do not formally register their copyrights with the United States Copyright Office (USCO), most understand that this step is key to protecting against infringement. With the publishing landscape changing almost daily, IBPA’s Legislation and Standards Committee was formed to help give a voice to the independent publishing community in matters of copyright and proposed legislation at both the state and federal level. For example, IBPA released a position statement on eBook legislation being considered in multiple states that would have violated copyright protections on authors’ and publishers’ work. This position statement, and follow up calls to action for IBPA members to contact their state and federal representatives when new eBook bills were proposed, was led by the IBPA Legislation and Standards Committee.
Copyright Challenges for the Publishing Industry
In our innovative world, it is important for publishers large and small to keep an eye on how technological innovations could impact copyright and the industry as a whole. Perhaps the most notable example of a recent copyright infringement case impacting publishers was that of Hachette et al v. Internet Archive, which challenged the fair use arguments made by a non-profit organization called Internet Archive that was scanning and digitizing whole copies of books without permission and offering them online for free. The court reached a final ruling that the use was infringement and did not qualify for the fair use defense in 2023. Although the Internet Archive moved to appeal the decision, the original ruling was upheld in September 2024. Ahead of National Book Month 2024, this was welcome news and a great victory for the publishing industry.
Today, AI is at the forefront of the creative world in publishing and beyond. Several cases impacting copyrights are now appearing. While we know that the United States Copyright Office will not currently grant copyright to fully-AI generated works after the ruling in the Thaler v. Perlmutter case, some cases are still pending. Interestingly, an appeal is currently underway before the DC Circuit court in the Thaler v. Perlmutter case, although it appears that the previous judgment will be upheld. There are also several cases being litigated in federal court where generative AI companies are making fair use arguments to justify their mass scraping and ingestion of copyrighted works without a license. Although some of these suits involve the use of non-book material in the creation of new works, it is important for publishers to monitor these cases as the final rulings may result in edits to U.S. copyright law on not just copyrightability of AI-generated content in new works, but also potentially laying the foundation for standardization of licensing models between generative AI companies, creators, and publishers. IBPA’s Legislative & Standards Committee remains focused on reporting back to IBPA’s membership and our industry colleagues on these issues and any others as they are presented.
IBPA’s Commitment to Strong Copyright Protections
During National Book Month 2024, we emphasize that the publishing industry’s health depends on all publishers (large and small) working with other industry professionals to ensure that our laws are protecting books published across the entire industry. IBPA helps address these challenges through our advocacy work as well as communication and partnership with our industry colleagues. Organizations that we partner with include the American Association of Publishers, the Authors Guild, and the Book Industry Study Group, as well as rights organizations such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and others who also face copyright challenges.
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