Presumably not, because the same copies would be created. This wasn't a case that hinged on DRM or content protection. IA was making copies, lots of copies, and that's an action governed by copyright law; it's right there in the name.

All that aside: if you have 1:1 physical books anyways, what is the reader accomplishing here? Just loan out the book.

No, but I suspect the licensing on the ebooks already forbids transferring the physical reader the book is on to another person.