U.S. Court Order Against Anna's Archive Signals Escalating Legal Pressure

Anna's Archive, the shadow library known for preserving and distributing academic materials, faces intensifying legal challenges after a federal court issued a permanent injunction against the site. This ruling compounds existing troubles after the unexplained seizure of its primary domains earlier this month.

Domain Mysteries Deepen

The site's operational crisis began when its original annas-archive.org domain was abruptly placed on serverHold status by the U.S.-based Public Interest Registry (PIR). Registry policies indicate such actions typically follow court orders, yet PIR declined to provide details when questioned. Days later, Anna's Archive's Swedish .se domain suffered the same fate through clientHold status. Neither registry explained these actions, though they coincided with the site's announcement about backing up Spotify content.

OCLC Secures Landmark Injunction

The legal landscape shifted decisively yesterday when Ohio's Southern District Court granted OCLC's request for a default judgment and permanent injunction. OCLC, which maintains the proprietary WorldCat bibliographic database, accused Anna's Archive of scraping and distributing its data without authorization.

Judge Michael Watson's order prohibits:

• Scraping or storing WorldCat data
• Distributing WorldCat information through Anna's Archive platforms
• Encouraging others to use or share the data The ruling also mandates deletion of all WorldCat-related materials, including associated torrent files.

Legal Nuances and Implications

The court validated OCLC's trespass to chattels and breach of contract claims while dismissing tortious interference allegations. Crucially, Judge Watson determined Anna's Archive entered a binding "browsewrap" agreement by repeatedly accessing WorldCat, deeming the site operators "sophisticated parties" who understood OCLC's terms.

Though OCLC waived monetary damages, the injunction empowers them to pressure intermediaries. The court's language targets entities "in active concert" with Anna's Archive, potentially compelling hosting providers, registrars, and other services to withdraw support.

Operational Future in Question

OCLC explicitly intends to leverage this ruling: "We intend to take the judgment to website hosting services to remove WorldCat data from Anna’s Archive’s websites." While unclear whether this caused the earlier domain suspensions, the injunction provides new ammunition for targeting the site's infrastructure.

This dual-front assault—unexplained domain seizures plus a sweeping court order—creates unprecedented operational hurdles for the shadow library. The outcome could establish significant precedent for copyright enforcement against platforms distributing scraped database content.

The permanent injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson is available here (pdf).