Statement on Sci-Hub Litigation | AAP

“We are pleased that the U.S. District Court has granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting the operators of Sci-Hub, the Library Genesis Project, and a number of related sites from distributing works to which Elsevier owns the copyright,” said Tom Allen, President and CEO, Association of American Publishers. “Professional and scholarly publishers invest significant resources to advance science, scholarship and innovation through quality publications. Copyright  protects authors and rights holders as well as the publishing ecosystem that supports scientific research worldwide.”

Though the defendant sought to justify the infringing acts as serving the public interest, the Court nonetheless saw through this argument and ruled that her solution, “simply making copyrighted content available for free,” in fact “disserves the public interest.” The court continued: “Given the importance of scientific research and the critical role that copyright plays in promoting it, the public interest weighs in favor of an injunction."