The Internet Archive's last-ditch effort to save itself

Scope and status of the lawsuit

• Many commenters note the suit isn’t only about the “National Emergency Library” (NEL); it challenges “controlled digital lending” (CDL) itself (1 physical copy → 1 concurrent digital loan).
• Trial court rejected IA’s fair‑use defense for CDL in general; the appeal is mainly about restoring CDL legality, with NEL hanging off that.
• Others point out there is already a negotiated judgment: IA agreed to stop distributing the plaintiffs’ ebooks (except where no commercial ebook exists) and pay an undisclosed amount, but is explicitly allowed to appeal on principle.
• Some argue media coverage and the linked article exaggerate existential risk; others think even a narrow loss will invite more suits (music, games) and cumulatively threaten IA’s survival.

National Emergency Library vs. CDL

• Widespread view: unlimited concurrent loans during COVID were a major legal and strategic blunder, far riskier and less sympathetic than 1:1 CDL.
• Defenders say 2020’s closures created a moral imperative; critics respond that good intentions don’t matter in court and that IA “bet the archive” without candidly acknowledging the risk.
• Disagreement over whether NEL should be seen as civil disobedience, fair use in an emergency, or simply “straight‑up piracy.”

Copyright, fair use, and morality

• Deep split:
  • Some see current copyright (especially life+70, aggressive corporate lobbying, DRM, ebook leasing) as unjust, culturally harmful, and ripe for resistance.
  • Others defend copyright as necessary for funding authors, editors, and big‑budget works, even while agreeing terms and practices are overlong or abusive.
• Several stress that open‑source and Creative Commons licenses themselves rely on copyright; total abolition would have trade‑offs.
• Philosophical thread on law vs. morality: “the law is the law” vs. duty to disobey unjust laws, with disagreement over whether IA chose a wise battlefield.

Libraries, ebooks, and economics

• Librarians and patrons describe ebook licensing as predatory: high prices, expiring licenses after few checkouts, large slices of budgets going to digital leases.
• Many argue CDL (or statutory first‑sale rights for ebooks) is crucial for public libraries in a digital world; others worry free CDL would undercut already fragile publishing economics.
• Concern that if libraries were invented today under current copyright norms, they might never be allowed.

Piracy and IA’s broader practices

• Multiple commenters note IA hosts obvious, current‑commercial material (full ROM sets, modern games, TV series) with no lending controls, making it look like a general‑purpose piracy site.
• Some see this as reckless and distinct from library‑like activities (Wayback Machine, abandonware, 78s); others argue most of IA already sits in a gray area and that “good piracy” is part of challenging harmful copyright norms.
• Debate over safe‑harbor protections, DMCA takedowns, and whether IA is doing enough proactive moderation.

Risk to preservation and resilience ideas

• Broad agreement that IA is uniquely important: default host for rare media, web history, software, music, and more; its loss would erase a “terrifyingly large” amount of cultural record.
• People highlight existing tools (Offline Internet Archive, dweb‑mirror) and call for:
  • Independent mirrors in multiple jurisdictions.
  • Large‑scale tape or disk replicas by institutions or wealthy patrons.
  • Longer‑term vision of a distributed, user‑hosted archive.
• Several urge individuals to locally save what they care about, assuming IA could disappear suddenly.