You Don’t Actually Own That Movie You Just “Bought.” A New Class Action Lawsuit Targets Amazon

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/prime-video-lawsuit-movie-license-ownership-1236353127/

30 comments

  1. From the article: On Friday, a proposed class action was filed in Washington federal court against Amazon over a “bait and switch” in which the company allegedly misleads consumers into believing they’ve purchased content when they’re only getting a license to watch, which can be revoked at any time.

    The issue came to the forefront at the California legislature in 2023 when gamers discovered that their access to The Crew would be cut off once Ubisoft shut down servers for the game. After, the “Stop Killing Games” movement was born to stop publishers from destroying titles consumers had already bought.

    The way in which digital transactions are structured, the lack of transparency around them and the streaming landscape is partly why physical media is kind-of-sort-of cool again. DVDs offer the ability, now and forever, to bypass the complicated web of licenses that leave fans unable to access their favorite titles.

    The lawsuit accuses Amazon, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, of misrepresenting the nature of movie and TV transactions during the purchase process. On its website and platform, the company tells consumers they can “buy” a movie. But hidden in a footnote on the confirmation page is fine print that says, “You receive a license to the video and you agree to our terms,” the complaint says.

  2. I still buy bluray and dvd copies because of things like this. Some say it’s a waste of money, but I have several game consoles and can watch movies without internet.

  4. That’s why I’m a physical media collector. I like the convenience of streaming, but owning the stuff I like feels great.

  5. It’s almost a problem with the naming convention.

    It should be more like “Rent: $3.99- License: $9.99.” Because to buy means to own. I hope this class action lawsuit puts a dent in our current shitty streaming media landscape.

    I hope it brings about more creation of physical media again.

  7. I buy physical but will buy movies on Apple if they are like $5 and I’ve gotten a gift card.

  8. If you can’t download it you don’t own it.

    Edit: to a local drive, not within the app

  9. Yeah I started buying Blu-ray of my favorite shows/movies when I learned about “you don’t own” digital media you purchased. I can’t buy everything but I can have some on hand that won’t be ruined by corporate shenanigans.

  11. I saw this as a thing when digital first emerged. As a result, I never ditched my physical media collection.

  12. I say try to buy a physical movie when it comes with a digital code, that way I have both.

  13. And VUDU/Fandango

    And iTunes for that matter.

    I don’t believe this will work. I think courts already ruled on Apples favor that you pay to use their service and not buy the media.

  14. I assume that if I don’t physically have a copy of something, I don’t actually own it and it can be taken away. It’s why I won’t buy anything digital for music or movies. I’ll stream, but I’m not paying more money for something I still don’t own.

  15. I just keep buying refurbished 6tb drives for my… Linux iso server

  17. This is why I buy movies and games; I knew it’d eventually get to this…and I enjoy having the physical library too

  19. IMO, if anything you ever bought (not rented) digitally gets deplatformed; the license issuer should be required to send you a physical copy of the media you purchased.

  20. It’s a scheme to lock users in to monthly payments

  21. If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing

  22. People don’t understand that DVDs and BlueRays are also licenses…not ownership. They are transferable but at least with a digital license you don’t have to worry about them getting scratched.

  23. Terms of service cant negate the before mentioned buy to own principle. 

    buy to own, means owning and they must honor it

  24. They are doing the same thing with digital music.

  25. If I like a movie I will buy it, and then immediately download a torrent so its endlessly rewatchable.

  26. This is blaming the seller for an owner right. Amazon or Apple would probably hope a consumer can keep it forever just to stop the complaints.

    What’s the word to replace “buy” for something that has no limit but revocable?

    The best solution is to just sell 1-5 year leases on digital purchases based on the agreements to rights.

  27. They removed a goofy movie i had on there for like 14 years. Ill never buy another movie from them

  28. If I buy digital I only buy via YouTube as I don’t pay a subscription fee with them . That being said I try not to buy digital

  29. I just have a housemate put everything on his hard drive and he shares the hard drive with me.

    I don’t know how he gets them but sometimes it’s the same movie that’s in the theaters same day I’m watching it from his hard drive. Internet is so cool!

  30. I love streaming for the convenience. But I still prefer to own physical media because I own itand nothing the companies can do can stop it from working.

    I’ve had internet outages in my neighborhood before (was much more prevalent before a viable competitor actually came in) and had neighbors asking to borrow some of my movies (I actually have a decently sized collection).

    The tin foil hat part of me though believes there’s some more sinister things with streaming occurring. There have been at least a few documented instances where the streamers have been caught editing the streaming version of the movie/show or canceling episodes all together for whatever reasons. It makes me wonder what they’ve subtly changed that no one has caught. At least with physical media, they can’t change that…well, not yet at least.

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