“Apple iTunes Store purchase is a scam” sued

DRM, such as e-books and music, is generally only purchased access rights to the end, and there is a risk that you cannot read or watch if the storage service is terminated or the rights are stopped.

In this context, there are reports that Apple is facing a class action lawsuit claiming that the purchase of a movie or TV show on the Apple iTunes Store is fraudulent. Reportedly, the lawsuit was filed in a federal district court in California. The plaintiff argues that the distinction between buying and lending is deceptive. That’s because Apple has the right to cease access to the content it has purchased.

The judge in charge of the trial said that he tried to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that although he believes that the content purchased by Apple remains indefinitely on the iTunes platform, reasonable consumers do not believe that the rights cannot be revoked forever. But the judge said, in general terms, buying means taking ownership of something. Reasonable consumers continue to admit, without dismissing the lawsuit, saying that they think it is reasonable to think in anticipation that their access will not be revoked.

In addition, in response to the plaintiff’s allegations, Apple refuted that it was not claiming a valid future threat infringement because it did not say that the plaintiff had stopped purchasing digital content, nor did it raise any changes to the iTunes store, which it believes has improved digital content. Judge Lee argues that the damage that the content purchased by the plaintiff may disappear someday is lacking in concreteness and is rather a speculation.

Regarding Apple’s allegations, the judge said that the damages the plaintiffs are claiming do not mean that, as Apple says, you may lose access to the purchased content at any time, rather than paying a high amount at the time of purchase, or not using it unless otherwise indicated, this economic loss is an economic loss. It is not speculation as Apple claims, it is concrete and realistic.

The judge dismissed the claim for the return of unfair gains in the plaintiff’s allegations, but left room for an injunction that could force Apple to change the way the content was sold. The plaintiff can get the money paid back, but there is a possibility of ordering the label to be corrected, such as purchasing the iTunes store.

These digital content-related issues are related to Amazon as well as Apple. In fact, Amazon Prime Video in the US is suing for unfair competition and false advertising. The lawsuit may also have the potential to have widespread impact on the digital content industry. Related information can be found here.