
In March 2023, the landmark case Hatchette Book Group Inc. v. Internet Archive ruled in Hatchett's favour. Now, over a year into an appeals process, the Internet Archive's appeal has been shut down.
This all stems from a decision made at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As lockdowns started to happen, and the public was no longer able to go to libraries—thereby giving them less access to books—the Internet Archive opened up its library to the public, where users could "lend" books (via Wired).