The ‘Buy’ Button On iTunes Has Landed Apple In Hot Water

There is a lot to love about digital content like music and movies and TV shows. It’s easier to keep and easier to access, although some have expressed concern over the years about whether or not one actually “owns” the content if they bought the digital version, versus buying a CD or DVD in which you actually own a copy of it.

That is the question that the courts are now trying to answer, where Apple is now facing a lawsuit over the “Buy” button in iTunes. According to the lawsuit, it claims that Apple is being misleading and deceptive because the company can terminate your access to your iTunes content at any time, meaning that you aren’t really “buying” the song or movie or TV show.

According to Apple’s defense, the company claims that “no reasonable consumer” would believe that the content on the iTunes platform would be there indefinitely. This was the argument the company used to try and get the lawsuit dismissed, but unfortunately for Apple, the judge begged to disagree.

According to U.S. District Court Judge John Mendez, “Apple contends that ‘[n]o reasonable consumer would believe’ that purchased content would remain on the iTunes platform indefinitely. 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.”

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, General
Tags: iTunes, Legal