Amazon Prime Video Lawsuit Claims Customers Who ‘Buy’ Content Are Misled About Ownership Rights

A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Amazon of “selling” movies and TV shows on its streaming platform without properly notifying customers that they are only purchasing a license to access the digital content—which can be revoked at any time.

According to the 25-page lawsuit, Amazon.com Services has deceptively conveyed that when a customer “buys” a movie or TV show on Amazon Prime Video, their purchase gives them permanent, unrestricted ownership of the digital work. The suit alleges that at no point is the consumer plainly informed that they are only purchasing a revocable license to the content.

Per the case, Amazon has violated California’s Digital Property Rights Transparency Law, which was enacted in January 2025 to protect consumers from unwittingly losing access to content they purchased. The complaint explains that unlike a physical DVD, which a customer can keep and watch whenever they like, content sold on Amazon Prime Video may disappear from a user’s digital library at any time, if, for example, Amazon replaces the work with a different version or loses the rights to it.

California law prohibits Amazon’s “bait and switch” tactic, lawsuit claims

California law requires sellers of digital goods, such as movies, TV shows, songs, books, codes, apps and games, to explicitly disclose the nature of a consumer’s ownership rights, the filing shares. Specifically, the suit says, a seller must either provide a clear and conspicuous disclaimer that customers are buying only a limited license to access the digital work, or obtain an affirmative acknowledgment that the user understands they are purchasing a revocable license.

The Amazon lawsuit contends that the tech giant has satisfied neither of these requirements with regard to Amazon Prime Video “purchases.”

For one, only on the “confirm purchase” page, the very last stage of the purchase flow, does Amazon disclose to the customer that what they are buying is a license to the content, the suit asserts. The fine-print statement is allegedly listed at the bottom of the screen, “buried” amid other text of the same color and size—a far cry from the “clear and conspicuous” disclaimer required by state law, the case claims.

Moreover, the complaint alleges the user is never asked to acknowledge that they understand the limited property rights their purchase affords.

The “ephemeral nature” of content purchased on Amazon Prime Video is underscored by the company’s terms of use, which grant the buyer a “non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, limited license” to the digital work, the filing says.

“And whereas if a consumer purchased a physical copy of the audiovisual work, the consumer could lend it to someone else to watch, with a digital copy of the audiovisual work, the consumer is not permitted to ‘transfer, copy or display the Digital Content,’” the case relays.

Who’s covered by the Amazon Prime Video lawsuit?

The Amazon class action lawsuit looks to represent all individuals in California who have purchased a digital audiovisual work from the company.

I bought a movie on Amazon Prime Video. How do I join the class action lawsuit?

In general, there’s nothing you need to do to join, sign up for or add your name to a class action lawsuit when it’s first filed. If the case is eventually resolved with a class action settlement, the people covered by the deal, known as class members, will be notified directly and given follow-up instructions and information about their rights.

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Looking for current class action lawsuits to join? Check out ClassAction.org’s class action lawsuit list.