> Did the emergency argument ever hold legal water?
It's whatever the courts say it is. Fair use is very squishy. Nobody knows until there is a case.
> How many actual librarians did the IA consult in crafting its programme?
They are actual librarians.
> Injunction.
If you voluntarily stop they don't need to file for an injunction, they can just drop the case and then there is nothing for you to appeal.
> Damages.
What's the difference between a billion dollars and a trillion dollars when you don't have a billion dollars?
> Going straight from controlled digital lending to free for all was totally unnecessary when the first hadn't been tested.
They'd been doing controlled digital lending for a good while and nobody sued them. To get a test case somebody has to file a lawsuit. Maybe it shouldn't work that way but "courts don't issue advisory opinions" isn't something IA made up.
> IA was arrogant throughout the lawsuit, and it showed in their library partners often publicly rebuking them.
Issuing a statement that amounts to "please don't sue us" isn't really indicative of much other than that they know they'd need to budget for a bunch of lawyers if they want to get involved and they don't.
It's whatever the courts say it is. Fair use is very squishy. Nobody knows until there is a case.
> How many actual librarians did the IA consult in crafting its programme?
They are actual librarians.
> Injunction.
If you voluntarily stop they don't need to file for an injunction, they can just drop the case and then there is nothing for you to appeal.
> Damages.
What's the difference between a billion dollars and a trillion dollars when you don't have a billion dollars?
> Going straight from controlled digital lending to free for all was totally unnecessary when the first hadn't been tested.
They'd been doing controlled digital lending for a good while and nobody sued them. To get a test case somebody has to file a lawsuit. Maybe it shouldn't work that way but "courts don't issue advisory opinions" isn't something IA made up.
> IA was arrogant throughout the lawsuit, and it showed in their library partners often publicly rebuking them.
Issuing a statement that amounts to "please don't sue us" isn't really indicative of much other than that they know they'd need to budget for a bunch of lawyers if they want to get involved and they don't.