Part of a page promising you can rent or own videos, from Amazon Instant Video: Getting Started.
Amazon Instant Video promises (as of 2011) that you can “rent” or “own” videos. But the TOS says that you may lose what you (thought you) owned.
A screenshot of marketing promises. They say you can rent (stream) or own (download and keep).
Here’s the passage from the Instant Video Terms of Use, the version updated 28 September 2011. I looked at it because I was thinking of buying something that is much cheaper as a download than on DVD. I bolded the key point.
a. Termination. If you violate any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement, your rights under this Agreement will automatically terminate without notice from us, and Amazon may, in its discretion, immediately revoke your access to the Service without notice to you and without refund of any fees. In such event, you must delete all copies of Digital Content that you have downloaded, and Amazon shall have the right, without notice to you, to automatically discontinue your access to Digital Content from the Service.
So if you break any part of the agreement, ever (read the whole thing, it’s long and detailed), then you’re supposed to delete everything you’ve ever bought from the service. It’s sort of like saying “If you ever run a red light in this car, the dealer will repossess it (and keep your money).” If they can take it away again after you’ve paid, you don’t own it. I won’t be using this service.
There’s a tricky detail. When they say “in such event”, what event do they mean? They can’t mean the event of Amazon revoking your access, because that happens without notice to you. They can’t mean the event of somebody telling you that you’ve violated the agreement, because they didn’t mention it and “in such event” can only refer to an event which has been mentioned. They must mean the event of your violating the agreement, the only other possible event that is mentioned. Technically, they’re saying “Police yourself, and if you’re guilty punish yourself.” Like that’s gonna work! You probably didn’t read or won’t remember the agreement, so if they ever want to enforce this then they’ll have to tell you.
d. Amendments. Amazon reserves the right to make changes to this Agreement at any time. Your continued use of the Service following any such changes will constitute your acceptance of such changes.
It’s fair enough that the agreement can change. What if some obnoxious customer like me points out mistakes that Amazon wants to fix? But I see two problems.
1. They don’t promise to tell you when they change the agreement. If one day you decide to stream some random TV show, and Amazon has updated the agreement page that they designed to repel your eyeballs, then Amazon will insist that the new agreement is now in effect.
2. And this new agreement may affect everything you’ve downloaded in the past. What if they keep the “you violate, you delete” clause and add a clause that you are in violation of? Even if they don’t, how do you feel about having to follow their rules forever when they can make new rules?
This version of Amazon Instant Video's TOS downloaded on 26 November 2011. Marketing screenshot made 28 November 2011.