Apple’s fine print in the user agreements makes it “clear” that you don’t own anything bought through Apple TV or iTunes. Even though their storefronts do say you are about to “buy” a movie, show, or song, it’s actually a license.
Over the past five years, I’ve seen my library of 300+ movies from Apple fluctuate. At random, one or two movies would disappear. I don’t keep a readily available list to compare the active titles to. Oh, and Apple does not tell you when a movie is no longer available. If you haven’t downloaded it somewhere else, you’re out of luck.
If you have an Apple TV, you also need to have a computer with a large enough drive to hold any and all of your potential future purchases. Yeah. Just “bought” a movie? Go over to your computer and download the backup. How … convenient. Apple isn’t the only company that pulls this, mind.
The Hollywood Reporter showed us a single person from Sacramento, California, taking Apple to court over the dubious wording. Of course, Apple attempted to have the lawsuit thrown out. The reason Apple gave? The “injuries” the plaintiff stated were “speculative.” As someone who has seen movies vanish, I call BS.
Here’s the exact wording from the court documents, “Apple argues that Plaintiff’s alleged injury — which it describes as the possibility that the purchased content may one day disappear — is not concrete but rather speculative.”
What could be the resolution? Personally, I think Apple needs to make it clear that you’re not buying anything. You’re leasing a film at a one-time price that could expire whenever without notice. That could dissuade people from making that $19.99 purchase.
What do you think of Apple’s wording regarding what you may spend money on in iTunes? Have any of your purchases vanished? Would you still “buy” movies from Apple if the disclaimer about licensing rights was clear and present before you finished the transaction?
Let us know in the comments.
[The Hollywood Reporter]
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