In a discussion in Europe, the conditions under which ebooks can be lent by public libraries are being newly examined, evaluated, and defined.
Earlier this month, the European Union Court of Justice (CJEU) handed down its decision that public libraries can lend ebooks as they do print books, provided that authors are fairly compensated. The “one copy, one user” model—treating an ebook as you might a print book, in other words—was confirmed as being consistent with EU statutes. It means that, whether a book is in print or in digital format, one copy constitutes just that: one copy. (The fear of some, of course, is that digital copies could be multiplied.)
The case originates in the Netherlands, where the library association Vereniging Openbare Bibliotheken and a rights-collection agency (which receives and distributes the authors’ compensation) were at odds on the matter.
Authors, according to the decision, have “the exclusive right to authorize or prohibit such rentals and loans,” but if those authors are fairly compensated, EU member states don’t have to go to each writer for express permission.
In one of the first organizational responses to the ruling, we get a better picture of what the decision can mean to industry players: the Federation of European Publishers has objected to the court’s decision. As parsed by Hannah Johnson at Publishing Perspectives, there are three key disagreements here, the publishers saying that:
- “Lending an ebook ‘in fact means copying.’
- “Borrowing an ebook ‘resembles the experience of buying an ebook.’
- “In Europe’s nascent ebook markets, ‘it’s hard to compete in a market in which virtually the identical product is available free.’”
The remedy for these concerns, in the publishers’ minds, seems to be technical limitations that lock in the “one copy, one user” principle to be sure that duplicate copies of ebooks aren’t in play.
Bottom line: With library ebook lending, two key issues are of concern: (1) easy and illicit replication of ebooks and (2) library ebook lending cannibalizing a portion of sales. In US discussions, the term friction has been used by publishers who don’t want library patrons to have such easy access to ebooks that it could inhibit sales. In essence, we’re seeing a phase in Europe that American libraries and publishers went through between 2013 and 2015. Here’s a useful look at that period from American Libraries magazine, if you’d like to review it. (Quick version: see the timeline on the left, “A Brief History of Ebook Publishing.”)
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
