What exactly does it mean to "own" a piece of entertainment in the digital age? Surprisingly, the answer is far more complicated than it seems, which is the central issue of a proposed lawsuit against the internet's superstore and streaming behemoth, Amazon. On Friday, August 22, a class action filed in Washington federal court accuses Amazon of engaging in bait-and-switch tactics with the use of words like "buy" and "purchase" on Prime Video. The lawsuit is based on the idea that consumers aren't actually purchasing a film or show on Amazon because they are only able to view it so long as the service maintains its rights to that project. If Amazon loses the rights, that movie or TV show that was purchased will disappear from the customer's online library. Outside of the troubling questions this lawsuit raises about the world of streaming and the ways corporations tend to treat art, it also highlights the value that physical media still holds in our increasingly digital society.
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