The first sale doctrine says that after a copyright holder first sells a copy of his or her work, the new owner may do whatever he or she pleases with that copy (assuming that use is legal). This concept came up through common law and was eventually codified in the Copyright Act of 1976. In 2010, two cases were working their way through the U.S. court system. What these particular cases had in common was this: They involved the right of first sale--the legal structure that allows libraries to lend copyrighted works such as books. One of these cases was "Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc." (09-35969). (The ALA felt the "Vernor" case was important enough that it filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff, Timothy Vernor.) At the same time "Vernor" was being argued, video vending giant Redbox was in the midst of a legal scuffle with major movie studios over first sale rights. Taken together, these seemingly unrelated legal battles have significant future implications for libraries--and some immediate implications as well. In this article, the author stresses the need to work to get legislation passed that protects libraries' right to lend. Because the future of the institution depends on it.