Internet Archive and Suzanne Shell Settle Lawsuit
Denver, CO, April 25, 2007.

Internet Archive, a library of historical Web site content, and Suzanne Shell, the author and owner of the Web site www.profane-justice.org, jointly announced today the settlement of their lawsuit, which stemmed from the archiving of Ms. Shell’s Web site in Internet Archive’s
Wayback Machine. The parties’ lawsuit, which began in January of 2006, involved Internet Archive seeking a
judicial declaration that it did not infringe Ms. Shell’s copyright when it preserved and made publicly available the www.profane-justice.org Web site in its Wayback Machine and Ms. Shell seeking to hold Internet Archive liable for copyright infringement, breach of contract, civil theft, conversion and racketeering. Internet Archive and Ms. Shell are both pleased that they have been able to reach an amicable resolution that is in both parties’ best interests.

The Internet Archive said, “Internet Archive has no interest in including materials in the Wayback Machine of persons who do not wish to have their Web content archived. We recognize that Ms. Shell has a valid and enforceable copyright in her Web site and we regret that the inclusion of her Web site in the Wayback Machine resulted in this litigation. We are happy to have this case behind us.” “I respect the historical value of Internet Archive’s goal. I never intended to interfere with that goal nor cause it any harm,” said Ms. Shell.

Both parties sincerely regret any turmoil that the lawsuit may have caused for the other. Neither Internet Archive nor Ms. Shell condones any conduct which may have caused harm to either party arising out of the public attention to this lawsuit. The parties have not engaged in such conduct and request that the public response to the amicable resolution of this litigation be consistent with their wishes that no further harm or turmoil be caused to either party.

About Internet Archive

Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an “Internet library,” with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. Founded in 1996 and located in the Presidio of San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. Internet Archive now includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived Web pages in its collections.

About Suzanne Shell

Suzanne Shell is an author, activist and legal consultant. She is the Director of American Family Advocacy Center, dedicated to promoting and protecting the Fundamental Human Right to Family Association. She is also the founder of Family Rights Advocacy Institute, the educational division of Families First Partnership, a 501(c)(3) non profit, which provides Continuing Legal Education training to legal professionals who practice in the arena of child welfare, as well as developing and providing public education and information about family rights. She owns and maintains the Web site www.profane-justice.org that houses her copyrighted content, including 16 years’ worth of her research, experience, expertise and testing. Ms. Shell resides in Elbert, Colorado.