Do i really own the digital media i bought?
You have a massive collection of e-books, music, video games, software, and movies that you bought as a digital download, and you probably think you own them, like you own a physical book or a DVD. Think again.
Remember those terms you clicked on as part of your “purchase?” Chances are, those terms were a license, which set the rules for how you could use that content—like the rental agreement on an apartment.
That agreement—which the digital landlord (copyright owner) knows you didn’t read— means you can’t trade your stuff in, give it away, or sell it. It also means it can disappear at any time.
If the company you bought it from shuts down, changes its terms, or just flat out loses the rights to what you’ve “bought,” that content can be clawed back from your devices. We know this because it’s happened already. Back in 2009, people who had copies of George Orwell’s 1984 woke up one morning to find their book gone from their Kindles because of a beef between Amazon and the publishers. In 2018, iTunes customers who purchased films were shocked to notice that Apple sometimes deletes titles from users’ libraries for licensing reasons. And in 2024, customers who purchased content through the Redbox app found it difficult or impossible to access after the company filed for bankruptcy.
When you buy a physical copy of a movie, video game, or album, you have the right to lend, donate, or resell that copy. This is because of the “first sale” doctrine, which is based on the idea that the copyright holder got the full value of their material the first time a copy sold. Now, the copyright holder no longer owns the copy—you do. Even if the copyright holder would prefer you to not give it away or resell it, you can. This doctrine is one of the most important limitations on the reach of copyright law. Llibraries and used book sellers rely on the “first sale” doctrine. But the copyright industries have never liked first sale, since it creates competition for their titles. Neither do the tech giants running the stores that sell you the downloads. The first sale doctrine hasn’t followed us online. With rare exceptions, you can only rent online content. (This is distinct from streaming services like Spotify or Netflix, where you pay a flat rate for access to an ever-changing collection of content you can’t control). Companies use all sorts of methods to make sure that you can’t give away or resell your download, like embedding it with Digital Rights Management (DRM) software that stops you from duplicating it. That same software also makes it harder for people who need to modify their devices or content to make it more accessible—like someone who is colorblind being unable to use a third-party app to automatically replace the colors they can't see with the colors they can.
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