Internet Archive Great 78 Project lawsuit

A live performance from Thelonious Monk, one of the artists whose works were allegedly infringed upon by the Internet Archive’s Great 78 Project. Photo Credit: Algemeen Nederlandsch Fotobureau

Over two years later, Universal Music, Sony Music, and the Internet Archive have officially settled their copyright infringement battle over the latter’s Great 78 Project.

Both sides informed the court that they’d reached an agreement (pending “final approval and signatures”) late last week, and the presiding judge signed off on a dismissal order yesterday.

According to the order, the case has been tossed without prejudice. But should any of the involved parties indicate during the next 90 days “that the agreed-upon consideration for said settlement has not been delivered,” the litigation would resume, Judge Maxine Chesney noted.

Absent from the settlement confirmation and the dismissal order is any mention of the resolution’s terms. And as things stand, it appears unlikely that the majors or the Internet Archive defendants will publicly disclose pertinent information here.

(As highlighted, Universal Music and Sony Music signed onto the action, but Warner Music didn’t do so. Furthermore, Warner/Atlantic exec Craig Kallman sits on the board of the ARChive of Contemporary Music, itself “a not-for-profit archive, music library and research center” that says it’s “donated to and digitized” some 371,000 “audio 78rpm sides…with The Internet Archive.”)

“As noted in the recent court filings in UMG Recordings, Inc. v. Internet Archive,” Internet Archive director of library services Chris Freeland spelled out, “both parties have advised the Court that the matter has been settled. The parties have reached a confidential resolution of all claims and will have no further public comment on this matter.”

Nevertheless, we aren’t without worthwhile details concerning the circumstances surrounding the settlement.

First, the Great 78 Project – which, as its name suggests, “is a community project for the preservation, research and discovery of 78rpm records” – remains live. However, the resource, presumably still encompassing north of 400,000 recordings, looks to have parted with the works at issue in the suit.

Among those works are songs from Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald, to name just a few. And per its archive-updates page, the Great 78 Project last added new works in September 2024.

Another consideration: the case’s optics weren’t exactly great. This became especially apparent late last year, when approximately 850 musicians signed a letter opposing the “major record labels’ unjust lawsuit targeting the Internet Archive.”

One component of a campaign organized by Fight for the Future, the same letter also described a variety of compensation-related qualms about streaming, concerts, and more. DMN reached out to the relevant organization for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response.