Maryland judge strikes down library e-book law opposed by AAP

A federal judge in Maryland has struck down a state library e-book law which would force publishers to license e-books to the state’s public libraries. 

District Court of Maryland judge Deborah L Boardman issued her decision on Monday (13th June), four months after granting a preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of the law, saying it is likely pre-empted by federal law. 

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) challenged the controversial law last year, arguing that it is unconstitutional and would give libraries “unprecedented control” over basic copyright transactions. It argued Maryland enacted a state copyright law that interfered with and sought to direct the transmissions of literary works within its borders, and that it "clearly conflicts with the United States Copyright Act and frustrates its essential public purpose”.   

The Publishers Association and the Federation of European Publishers also voiced their support for the AAP’s challenge, which would force publishers to make e-books and audiobooks which can already be bought by Maryland consumers available to its public libraries on “reasonable terms” mandated by the state.   

Maria A Pallante, president and c.e.o. of the AAP, praised Monday’s announcement as a “clear decision that protects the exclusive rights that are the basis of the United States Copyright Act and the means by which authors and publishers make so many intellectual and economic contributions to society and the long-term public interest”.  

She added: “The ruling underscores the fundamental legal tenet that was never in doubt to those who respect and rely upon our copyright system, and which Judge Boardman stated succinctly in her February analysis: it ‘is only through the protection of copyright that books and other creative works may be generated and distributed at all’.

“As AAP’s lawsuit explained in great detail, Maryland enacted a shadow copyright law that would have forced authors and publishers to transmit literary works to public libraries within its borders according to regulated terms imposed by the state. The encroachment was astonishing for its direct conflict with two centuries of federal law and its upheaval of an internet economy in which authors, artists, publishers, and producers from around the world make their intellectual property available to consumers through a plethora of innovative formats and access models that also include more than a half a billion digital loans for library patrons in the United States alone. Every day, thanks to the protections and reciprocity afforded by international treaties, such transactions are carried out seamlessly and rapidly across borders and permit the incredible innovation of home browsing. 

“Today’s decisive ruling, combined with governor Kathy Hochul’s December 2021 veto of a nearly identical bill in New York on constitutional grounds, sends a two-fold message to other legislatures being similarly lobbied: there is nothing judicious about undermining authors or the viability of an independent publishing industry.” 

Mary Rasenberger, c.e.o. of the Authors Guild, congratulated the APP on its victory, slamming Maryland’s licensing law as "misguided" and a "wholly unwarranted rebuke of authors’ exclusive rights under the Constitution and federal copyright law".

She added: “The Authors Guild has long been a champion of increasing funding to libraries so they can purchase more digital licenses they need to serve their patrons and communities – a far better method of ensuring libraries can acquire robust collections than controlling e-book and audiobook prices. Price regulation is a form of regulation that is very rarely applied in this country and for good reason; in this case it would undermine the value of literary works and the ecosystem that ensures that authors and publishers can keep publishing great books."