Key Takeaways
- Ownership Issue: When purchasing digital movies or TV shows, consumers receive a license rather than true ownership.
- Lawsuit Allegations: A class-action lawsuit against Amazon claims misleading marketing regarding digital purchases.
- Legal Standards: New California law may strengthen consumer rights by requiring clear ownership terms in digital transactions.
- Consumer Concerns: Many users worry about the potential removal of purchased digital content from their libraries.
Movies and TV shows have been sold digitally for years, but here’s the catch—when you “buy” one, you don’t actually own it. What you’re really purchasing is a license to view it. If the platform that sold the movie or TV show to you loses distribution rights, that title can disappear from your library without warning. Many consumers already realize this, but a proposed class-action lawsuit against Amazon argues that the tech company shouldn’t be allowed to market digital titles as something you can truly “buy.”
Per THR, the lawsuit accuses Amazon of misrepresenting the nature of movie and TV transactions during the purchase process. When you buy a movie or TV show from Amazon, there is some fine print on the confirmation page stating, “You receive a license to the video and you agree to our terms.“
Wright Noel, a lawyer for consumers behind the Amazon lawsuit, says the company “does not meet the standards set by the statute for a clear and conspicuous notice that the thing they are purchasing is a revocable license to access the digital good. The warning is buried at the very bottom of the screen, in font that is considerably smaller than the other text on the screen.“
This isn’t the first time Amazon has faced a lawsuit of this nature. In 2020, a woman sued the company for unfair competition and false advertising. In a move to dismiss the suit, Amazon argued that its Terms of Use “expressly state that purchasers obtain only a limited license to view video content and that purchased content may become unavailable due to provider license restriction or other reasons.” The company added that “an individual does not need to read an agreement in order to be bound by it. A merchant term of service agreement in an online consumer transaction is valid and enforceable when the consumer had reasonable notice of the terms of service.“
THR’s report states that a law which went into effect in California earlier this year may give the case more teeth. It prohibits any transaction advertised as a “purchase” which doesn’t offer unrestricted ownership of the product. Sellers must ensure buyers acknowledge that what they’re actually getting is a limited license that can ultimately be rescinded.
We love our physical media here at JoBlo, but it’s not always an option for everyone. Depending on the size of your collection, it can take up a lot of space, and some of those boutique releases get a little pricey, so I totally get why going Digital is the best move for many folks. That said, I do sleep better at night knowing that my 4K release of Scanner Cop II isn’t going anywhere.
If you buy movies digitally, does it concern you that they could be removed from your library?
