Amazon says users don't own content bought on Prime Video

When you purchase a TV show or movie on Amazon Prime Video, you don't actually own it. At least, that's Amazon's argument in an effort to dismiss a lawsuit on Monday.

Amazon on Monday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging unfair competition and false advertising, per The Hollywood Reporter. That lawsuit, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, accused Amazon of "secretly" reserving the right to end a consumer's access to Prime content.

In its motion, Amazon claims that the plaintiff in the case, Amanda Caudel, didn't suffer any injury because of its terms of service. The retail giant pointed out that Caudel continued to buy content on Prime since filing the lawsuit in April.

More than that, Amazon argues that its site user agreements clearly state that user's aren't actually purchasing a piece of content. Instead, they're buying a limited license for "on-demand viewing over an indefinite period of time."

"The most relevant agreement here — the Prime Video Terms of Use — is presented to consumers every time they buy digital content on Amazon Prime Video," Amazon attorney David Biderman wrote in the motion. "These 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."

Additionally, Amazon says that users don't actually need to read the terms of use in order to be bound by it. All they need to do is agree to it, which is part of the sign-up process.

"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," Biderman wrote.

Amazon's service isn't the only one that offers "licenses" instead of actual products. In 2019, Microsoft began warning users that they would lose access to books purchased through the Microsoft Store.

It isn't clear what Apple's stance on the issue is. Back in 2018, in response to complaints about disappearing iTunes films, Apple said in a statement that "any movies you've already downloaded can be enjoyed at any time and will not be deleted unless you've chosen to do so."

In its own legal terms, it says that some content "may not be available for Redownload if that content is no longer offered on our Services."

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65 Comments

mknelson 1148 comments · 9 Years

About 4 years ago

There isn't anything unusual here - that's the same licensing terms as on CDs, DVDs, Computer Games, pretty much every digital media…

*still handy to remind people - there will be newbs here.

ITGUYINSD 550 comments · 5 Years

mknelson said:

There isn't anything unusual here - that's the same licensing terms as on CDs, DVDs, Computer Games, pretty much every digital media…

*still handy to remind people - there will be newbs here.

Not quite the same. I have stacks of DVD's and Blu-Ray's that have been on my shelves for 10 years. They aren't going anywhere and will always be available to play.
A movie purchased at Apple that the studio has decided it did not want to sell through Apple anymore would be gone the next time I wanted to play it. POOF! Sure, download it. Right. No one does that except maybe to an iPad or iPhone then what good is it? Get a new phone or iPad and the download is gone.

rchg 5 comments · 11 Years

mknelson said:

There isn't anything unusual here - that's the same licensing terms as on CDs, DVDs, Computer Games, pretty much every digital media…

*still handy to remind people - there will be newbs here.

Except that, say, the music label does not enter your home and take the CD away just because the artist changed the label/publisher.

larryjw 1036 comments · 9 Years

rchg said:

mknelson said:

There isn't anything unusual here - that's the same licensing terms as on CDs, DVDs, Computer Games, pretty much every digital media…

*still handy to remind people - there will be newbs here.

Except that, say, the music label does not enter your home and take the CD away just because the artist changed the label/publisher.

Its quite different from CDs, DVDs, books. When you buy one of these you own the fixed medium on which the content is written. You can sell it, give it away, destroy it, but you do OWN the medium.

That is far different from today's "ownership" -- the content is fixed temporarily and ephemeral. You make copies, for example, when your systems are backed-up but mostly it is very little different from a limited rental.

ihatescreennames 1977 comments · 19 Years

ITGUYINSD said:

mknelson said:

There isn't anything unusual here - that's the same licensing terms as on CDs, DVDs, Computer Games, pretty much every digital media…

*still handy to remind people - there will be newbs here.

Not quite the same. I have stacks of DVD's and Blu-Ray's that have been on my shelves for 10 years. They aren't going anywhere and will always be available to play.
A movie purchased at Apple that the studio has decided it did not want to sell through Apple anymore would be gone the next time I wanted to play it. POOF! Sure, download it. Right. No one does that except maybe to an iPad or iPhone then what good is it? Get a new phone or iPad and the download is gone.

Not sure where you’re getting that from. 15 or 20 years ago I received a code to download Enemy of the State on iTunes. It was in SD. Years later Apple started upgrading previous purchases to HD. Out of curiosity I checked to see if Enemy of the State was included only to find out it was no longer listed in the store, except I could still watch it (in SD). Now it’s back and is in HD and my copy was automatically upgraded.

Also, this article is about Prime Video so it’s a little strange you’re trying to throw Apple under the bus.