The copyright infringement inherent in CDL is not a victimless crime. As the victims of CDL, we want librarians, archivists, and readers to understand how they are harming the authors of the books they love by participating in CDL projects, even if they have the best of intentions.
When writers can’t make a living, they can’t afford to keep writing, and readers lose too.
Well-meaning librarians, archivists, and readers, who don’t intend to deprive authors of their livelihoods, are being misled by false claims from proponents of CDL.
Under CDL, printed books are being scanned and distributed online to readers worldwide by the Internet Archive and U.S. and Canadian libraries.
CDL is not comparable to lending of physical books by libraries. CDL is not “fair use” as defined in U.S. copyright law, and an exception to or limitation of copyright to allow CDL without permission or remuneration would not be permitted by the Berne Convention on Copyright. CDL interferes with many of the normal ways, including new ways largely unnoticed by librarians, that authors are earning money from written and graphic works included in so-called “out of print” books. There is no basis for a good-faith belief that CDL is legal under either U.S. or international law.
We appeal for a dialogue among writers, authors, publishers, and librarians on how to enable and create the digital libraries we all want, in ways that fully respect authors’ rights.
Access Copyright
https://accesscopyright.ca
American Photographic Artists (APA)
https://apanational.org
American Society for Collective Rights Licensing (ASCRL)
http://www.ascrl.org
American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)
https://asja.org
American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)
https://www.asmp.org
Association of American Publishers (AAP)
https://publishers.org
Association of Authors’ Agents (AAA)
http://www.agentsassoc.co.uk
Association of Authors’ Representatives (AAR)
http://aaronline.org
Association nationale des éditeurs de livres (ANEL)
https://www.anel.qc.ca
Authors Guild
https://www.authorsguild.org
Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP)
https://www.canscaip.org
Copibec
https://www.copibec.ca
European Council of Literary Translators’ Associations (CEATL)
https://www.ceatl.eu
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
https://europeanjournalists.org
European Visual Artists (EVA)
https://www.evartists.org
European Writers’ Council (EWC)
http://europeanwriterscouncil.eu
Federation of European Publishers (FEP)
https://fep-fee.eu
Graphic Artists Guild
https://graphicartistsguild.org
Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
https://www.ibpa-online.org
International Authors Forum (IAF)
https://www.internationalauthors.org
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
https://www.ifj.org
International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO)
https://ifrro.org
International Publishers Association (IPA)
https://internationalpublishers.org
National Association of Science Writers (NASW)
https://www.nasw.org
National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)
https://nppa.org
National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981, AFL-CIO)
https://nwu.org
Novelists, Inc.
https://ninc.com
Public Lending Right International
https://plrinternational.com
Professional Association of Canadian Literary Agents (PACLA)
http://pacla.ca
Sanasto
https://www.sanasto.fi
Society of Authors
https://societyofauthors.org
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
https://www.scbwi.org
Songwriters Guild of America (SGA)
https://www.songwritersguild.com
Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA)
https://www.taaonline.net
The Publishers Association
https://www.publishers.org.uk/
The Writers Union of Canada
https://www.writersunion.ca
Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ)
https://www.uneq.qc.ca