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Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

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Re: Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

#31

Post by makach »

Yes. Hopefully they will do something about it. I have "bought" many movies on iTunes, you may argue that I am part of the problem, but I do because it is so very convenient.

I perfectly understand the implicit meaning of "buying" and what I get is a non-transferable license to access the movie from my account.

The same problem exists with video-games. It is much closer to a rental than ownership.

I believe that all these licenses should become transferable instead of locked to a specific account. I could somewhat agree to paying a small fee to achieve this, even though I believe it should be free. The technology to achieve this also exist (blockchain), so the only thing stopping big-media from doing this is greed.

Re: Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

#33

Post by afandian »

hyperman1 wrote: post #13

This seams the core of Apple's defence: Apple contends that '[n]o reasonable consumer would believe' that purchased content would remain on the iTunes platform indefinitely which is a flagrant difference between ownership of physical items and non-cloud items vs cloud items. This strikes at the root of our society's definition of ownership. Clarification should not depend on Apple, or even a court. This should be ens…

It shouldn't only come down to "on the iTunes platform". What about the user's ability to maintain access?

I have a similar situation with Google. I've had a Google Apps for buisness account for a few years so I can can use email on my personal domain. I made the mistake of 'purchasing' some media on that account.

I've since switched my mail over to fastmail but can't quite bring myself to close the Google account because I paid for every episode of the American The Office and might want to watch it again ... one day.

Of course Google's customer service worse than useless. Can't transfer the 'purchases' to a free google account. Can't refund. Do I cut my losses or keep paying for the account subscription?

The answer is never buy anything from Google (or equivalent, such as Apple) but that's not a very mainstream solution.

Re: Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

#34

Post by [deleted] »

senko wrote: post #6

I've seen the phrase "Own it in {HD/BluRay/4K}" so many times and always cringe. You're just owning a limited license ( extremely limited, in the case of digital goods) to watch. The average HN user can spot the difference and say "of course you don't own it, and in case of streaming, you only have access for as long as the service is around", but that's not what the average consumer sees. "Buy" and "own" have very s…

[deleted]

Re: Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

#35

Post by paulcarroty »

senko wrote: post #6

I've seen the phrase "Own it in {HD/BluRay/4K}" so many times and always cringe. You're just owning a limited license ( extremely limited, in the case of digital goods) to watch. The average HN user can spot the difference and say "of course you don't own it, and in case of streaming, you only have access for as long as the service is around", but that's not what the average consumer sees. "Buy" and "own" have very s…

Apple plays with "owning" and "leasing" here. Sure "owning" sells better.

Re: Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

#36

Post by afandian »

wiredfool wrote: post #26
hyperman1 wrote: post #13

This seams the core of Apple's defence: Apple contends that '[n]o reasonable consumer would believe' that purchased content would remain on the iTunes platform indefinitely which is a flagrant difference between ownership of physical items and non-cloud items vs cloud items. This strikes at the root of our society's definition of ownership. Clarification should not depend on Apple, or even a court. This should be ens…

So is the core of this issue that if I "buy" a movie on iTunes (say Kenneth Braunah's Henry V), and they lose the right to distribute it (as they did within the last year), I can no longer watch the movie?

More to the point, how much of a refund do you get if it's withdrawn? If Apple is sharing the licensing risk with you, the goods should come at a pretty steep discount.

Re: Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

#37

Post by grishka »

onion2k wrote: post #12
senko wrote: post #6

I've seen the phrase "Own it in {HD/BluRay/4K}" so many times and always cringe. You're just owning a limited license ( extremely limited, in the case of digital goods) to watch. The average HN user can spot the difference and say "of course you don't own it, and in case of streaming, you only have access for as long as the service is around", but that's not what the average consumer sees. "Buy" and "own" have very s…

I've seen the phrase "Own it in {HD/BluRay/4K}" so many times and always cringe. You're just owning a limited license (extremely limited, in the case of digital goods) to watch. That's technically correct, but revoking the license for a specific DVD is effectively impossible. If you have the plastic disc you will be able to play it until the disc wears out. The same should be true for digital purchases, or the limita…

Even if, and it's a big if, whatever online store you "bought" your digital content from is around forever and never arbitrarily bans your account with no way to appeal, you still get less value out of your purchase. You could lend a physical medium to a friend or resell it. Can't do any of that with a digital purchase. Yet, somehow, digital purchases still often cost as much as the real thing.

Re: Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

#38

Post by throws23577 »

bajsejohannes wrote: post #2

Somewhat related, I'm confused every time iOS says "Processing Payment" when I download a free app.

Is it possible to download free apps from the App Store without ever giving payment details to Apple? For example, if I don't set up card details during phone set up, can I still download free apps?

Re: Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

#39

Post by dhruvrrp »

It's not just Apple, almost all online services charge an extra to buy movies/tv shows compared to renting, even when it's impossible to get that movie out of the online service.

So now there is a whole variety of movies/shows you just can't buy ( unless they have a physical release). This is especially problematic for older shows, which don't have physical copies at all. For example, I've recently been trying to purchase Yes Minister (a BBC show from the 80s) and it's only available in locked down online streaming places like Youtube and Apple TV

Re: Apple is sued for telling you that you're “buying” movies

#40

Post by DanBC »

sfgweilr4f wrote: post #14

The old discussions around digital assets resurface again. My perspective is really simple: If I buy something then its mine. If I lease something then its temporary. Buying a lease is actually just leasing. Digital assets are more often just fancy lease agreements. At best you get to keep access to what you paid for when you stop paying. At worst its literally just a lease. The real kicker is you often can't simply…

> Last time I looked you could write the MP3s to a CD.

Format shifting isn't always legal. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/17/high-court-q...

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