Moving Beyond the Publisher Playbook: Why State-Level Contract Law Is Essential to the Future of Digital Library Rights

Professor Kyle K. Courtney co-authored an opinion piece in Library Journal defending state-level contract law as a tool for protecting libraries from restrictive ebook licensing terms. Courtney and his co-authors at the eBook Study Group argue that laws recently passed in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Washington, DC regulate commercial contract terms rather than copyright itself, and push back on claims that such legislation risks running afoul of federal preemption or the Commerce Clause.