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Sure, you "bought" that movie on Amazon's Prime Video, but do you actually "own" it? The answer is tricky, and now, the streaming giant may be getting into some legal trouble over it. 

On August 25, The Hollywood Reporter published details of a class action lawsuit that was filed in Washington federal court over the issue of whether Amazon can truly offer the option of "buying" a movie or TV show via their platform. The issue is essentially this - when you click "purchase" and spend $14.99 on a digital copy of Minions: The Rise of Gru, it would make sense that you, the person spending money, expect to be able to watch Minions: The Rise of Gru as much as you want for the rest of your life. But there's a possibility that won't be the case.

What you are actually spending almost $15 on isn't a forever digital copy of Minions: The Rise of Gru, but rather a license to stream Minions: The Rise of Gru so as long as Prime Video is legally allowed to provide it. Should a rights issue arise between the IP owners of those lovable yellow henchfolks and Jeff Bezos's billion-dollar baby, then your ability to watch Minions: The Rise of Gru could be lost indefinitely.

So the question is - should Amazon be able to use words like "purchase" and "buy" when presenting viewers with a non-rent option for their favorite films, such as Minions: The Rise of Gru? The lawsuit reported on by THR suggests, that it should not be the case, and in a way, Prime Video has kind of already responded to it.

That's because a very similar issue has come before a major court previously, in 2020. As THR notes, Amazon responded to the five-year old suit by maintaining "that its use of the word 'buy' for digital content isn’t deceptive because consumers understand their purchases [Author's note - such as Minions: The Rise of Gru] are subject to licenses." However, since the 2020 case, laws surrounding the definition of "purchase" and "buy" have changed, with a 2025 law going into effect in California "barring the advertisement of a transaction as a 'purchase' unless it offers unrestricted ownership of the product."

As of this writing, Amazon's Prime Video has not released a public statement regarding the new proposed lawsuit, and since this is a developing story, Popverse will be coming back to it with updates. In the meantime, Minions: The Rise of Gru is streaming on Peacock.

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