Copyright Cases in 2021: A Year In Review — A look back at some of the highlights from the courts in 2021, from the “confusing but limited decision in Google v. Oracle,” to questions about the copyright registration system and state sovereign immunity.
Suzanne Wilson Named General Counsel of U.S. Copyright Office — Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter notes Wilson’s “deep knowledge and expertise in copyright law, litigation, and technology.” Wilson will head the Copyright Office’s Office of the General Counsel, which “assists the Register in carrying out critical work of the U.S. Copyright Office regarding the legal interpretation of the copyright law”; works with “the Department of Justice, other federal departments, and the legal community on a wide range of copyright matters, including litigation and the administration of Title 17”; and has “primary responsibility for the formulation and promulgation of regulations and the adoption of legal positions governing policy matters and the practices of the U.S. Copyright Office.”
IPA and European Publishers Back AAP’s Maryland Copyright Lawsuit — Porter Anderson writes at Publishing Perspectives, “The Association of American Publishers finds international backing for its lawsuit of Maryland’s new library digital book licensing law.”
U.S. District Court Grants Win to Plaintiffs in Kiss Library eBook Piracy Suit — “The U.S. Court for the Western District of Washington awarded $7.8 million in statutory damages to 12 Authors Guild members, Amazon Publishing, and Penguin Random House for 52 acts of copyright infringement in a default judgment against Kiss Library, permanently shutting down the Ukraine-based ebook piracy ring. In a decisive opinion on December 20, 2021, Judge Marsha Pechman, senior district judge for the Western District, decided all claims for the plaintiffs and awarded $150,000 per infringed book, the maximum penalty allowed under U.S. law.”
Public Libraries and Schools Surpass Half a Billion Digital Book Loans in 2021 — Overdrive reports, “As the pandemic persisted in 2021, librarians and educators enabled readers worldwide to borrow 506 million ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines, a 16% increase over 2020. With a focus on equity of access to books for all, libraries achieved all-time records for circulation while lowering the average cost-per-title borrowed.”