International Monetary Fund sued for breaching subscription copyright

A business news publisher has sued the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a copyright infringement claim that accuses the organisation of violating a licence agreement.

In a lawsuit filed at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, US-based Energy Intelligence Group (EIG) claimed the IMF has distributed copies of copyright-protected newsletters without permission.

EIG has published “newsletters and other publications” for the global energy industry for more than 60 years.

One of its publications, Oil Daily (OD), consists of a daily newsletter that provides expert news and analysis on the oil industry.

According to the complaint, interested parties have various subscription options depending on their needs.

The IMF has subscribed to OD since 2015 and has a subscription agreement that provides it with just one copy.

EIG said that its terms and conditions state that “reproduction or distribution internally or externally in any manner (photostatically, electronically, or via facsimile) … is strictly prohibited without appropriate licence”.

In the complaint, filed on Friday, August 12, the IMF is accused of sharing copies of the publication on a shared internal drive with employers who are not covered by the terms of the subscription.

The IMF “willfully make and distribute copies of OD despite being expressly notified that such actions are impermissible”, the complaint said.

“On information and belief, defendant has been regularly and systematically copying and forwarding the OD copyrighted works and the articles contained therein since at least as early as 2015,” it added.

EIG is seeking damages and attorneys’ fees along with an injunction preventing the IMF from carrying out further infringement.