Multiple years and twists later, the major labels’ copyright infringement lawsuit against the Internet Archive looks to be trending towards a resolution.
That’s according to the litigants themselves, which just recently requested a 30-day stay in the case. The presiding judge promptly approved the sought pause, and as a result, we should know sooner rather than later whether the parties will finally put the matter to bed.
But as described by Universal Music, Sony Music, and the Internet Archive, which are clashing specifically over the latter’s “Great 78 Project” music-preservation effort, things are trending in the right direction on this front.
Both sides “have engaged in and made significant progress in settlement discussions and believe a thirty (30) day stay of proceedings will facilitate resolution of this matter,” they jointly told the court when seeking the stay.
Furthermore, the parties “are optimistic that settlement discussions may be successful and that this case can be dismissed,” per the document.
At present, we don’t know exactly what those settlement discussions entail, nor do we know for certain why a compromise is now being discussed in earnest.
The back-and-forth legal battle initiated in 2023, and the Internet Archive last year came up short with its dismissal motions. However, that the same defendant suffered a largescale hack in October 2024 is worth keeping in mind. More pressingly, so is the considerable artist pushback against the relevant infringement lawsuit.
We broke down the straightforward criticism – expressed as part of a campaign organized by Fight for the Future – in December. At the time, approximately 630 artists had signed a letter opposing the “major record labels’ unjust lawsuit targeting the Internet Archive.”
Since then (and with the letter no longer accepting new signatures), roughly 850 total musicians have added their names to the message, the appropriate webpage shows.
As to where the dispute proceeds from here, the newly issued stay will run through early May. Of course, if a settlement does come to fruition, the parties will jointly seek dismissal. And if a resolution doesn’t materialize during the period, they’ll have 10 days post-stay to submit a new proposed schedule to the court.
In other infringement-suit resolutions, Dua Lipa recently beat a “Levitating” copyright complaint, Mariah Carey last month emerged victorious in an “All I Want for Christmas Is You” action, and hip-hop producer Turbo topped a different suit yet.
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