Apple must face lawsuit alleging that 'buying' media on iTunes is misleading

Apple must face a lawsuit claiming that it is misleadingly telling customers they can "purchase" content on iTunes or Apple TV, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The complaint argues that Apple is deceiving customers by saying they "can" buy media content like movies and TV shows on its platforms, such as the legacy iTunes app or the Apple TV app. It alleges that Apple reserves the right to terminate access to purchased content, essentially claiming that a consumer doesn't actually own it.

Apple tried to file a motion to get the original lawsuit dismissed. But, on Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge John Mendez ruled that Apple must face the complaint, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"Apple contends that no reasonable consumer would believe' that purchased content would remain on the iTunes platform indefinitely," Mendez writes in his opinion.

"But in common usage, the term 'buy' means to acquire possession over something. It seems plausible, at least at the motion to dismiss stage, that reasonable consumers would expect their access couldn't be revoked," the judge added.

Apple attempted to get the lawsuit dismissed with other arguments, claiming that the plaintiff's injury is speculative instead of concrete. Judge Mendez, however, disagreed with that assessment.

Judge Mendez did toss out the unjust enrichment claim of the original lawsuit. Nevertheless, he left open the possibility for injunctive relief that could force Apple to change the way it sells or markets content.

Amazon is facing a similar lawsuit that was levied against the company in October 2020. In its defense, Amazon says that users don't actually own content. Instead, it says that "buying" a movie or TV show on Amazon Prime Video amounts to obtaining a limited license to view the content.

Apple has faced criticism in the past for allegedly removing "owned" user media content. The Cupertino tech giant made no ownership claim like Amazon did but said that content users have already downloaded "can can be enjoyed at any time and will not be deleted unless [a user has] chosen to do so."

66 Comments

DoomFreak 19 comments · 6 Years

About 3 years ago

Apple is full of crap. It is very misleading to tell users they can purchase something with a "Buy" button and then suggest that they do not own it. I think they would get a lot less money , if they had a "Use for an unknown amount of time" button.

They know people think they are buying it. Purely deceptive.

mark fearing 439 comments · 16 Years

DoomFreak said:

Apple is full of crap. It is very misleading to tell users they can purchase something with a "Buy" button and then suggest that they do not own it. I think they would get a lot less money , if they had a "Use for an unknown amount of time" button.

They know people think they are buying it. Purely deceptive.

I think it’s a matter on syntax for Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, HP, every streaming service, and on and on. It seems contrary to what you post we are in an era of rapid change in terminology because of technology. I doubt Apple or every other digital service of any kind, is trying to ‘scam’ anyone but those living in the 17th century. The word buy seems to cause the trouble. I buy cars and houses but don’t own them outright until I pay them off. Let’s change a bit of terminology and avoid court fights and calm down.

mylovino 22 comments · 7 Years

DoomFreak said:

Apple is full of crap. It is very misleading to tell users they can purchase something with a "Buy" button and then suggest that they do not own it. I think they would get a lot less money , if they had a "Use for an unknown amount of time" button.

They know people think they are buying it. Purely deceptive.

mmmmh...though I understand (and actually share) the frustration, I also believe it is out of line to again shoot only at Apple. E.g. I can also not accept that Amazon’s Kindle content follows a similar logic, as actually most of the digital content. Part of the problem might also be the owners of the content itself, they still seem to ignore the lessons from the initial music issue after MP3 saw the light of day.

So looking forward to the decision of the court here...just pleeeeeease stop being so one-sited, it is essentially an general industry issue, not Apple specific 🙏

macplusplus 2116 comments · 9 Years

DoomFreak said:

Apple is full of crap. It is very misleading to tell users they can purchase something with a "Buy" button and then suggest that they do not own it. I think they would get a lot less money , if they had a "Use for an unknown amount of time" button.

They know people think they are buying it. Purely deceptive.

They never suggested that you don't own it. Within the constraints of the copyright law, you "own" the copy you purchased. What Apple say is they are not under the obligation to hold your purchased copy indefinitely on their servers. Your are under the obligation of downloading your purchased copy and store it in your possession.