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I also think temporary licenses if they are marketed appropriately. This disclosure is a small step in the right direction, but I don't think it's enough yet.

I also think temporary licenses if they are marketed appropriately. This disclosure is a small step in the right direction, but I don't think it's enough yet. Any words like "Buy", "Purchase", "Own", etc should be absolutely banned. They should be forced to to use verbs like "Rent". Saying you're purchasing a license is better than saying you're purchasing the book, but if it's not a perpetual license, they should be required to specify the duration (or, if indefinite but revocable, it should be so stated). Things like: - "Rent for 1 week" - "$2.99 to borrow for a month" - "Rent for as long as we decide to allow" I also think if the marketing materials explicitly disagree with the terms within a clickwrap license agreement, the marketing materials should be binding.

KingMob 2y ago
I agree that words like "buy" are deceptive, but changing the language won't fix the underlying problem that it's getting harder and harder to actually buy certain things permanently.
- bornfreddy 2y ago
  Not necessarily. The clear language would help consumers determine what they are getting out of the transaction. Many could decide it is not worth it or would search for a better deal elsewhere (where they could buy the book, not just rent it). I'm sure Amazon would come up with new ways to combat this though.
- goosedragons 2y ago
  Yeah, and so we should change the rules, not accept a weakening of the meaning of buy or make it more clear that you're renting. Companies already have an enforcement mechanism against copyright infringement. It's called the courts. They don't need DRM, they're just assholes. We need to place reasonable limitations on DRM use. They don't need to have DRM for the entire 50+ years of the copyright term. Putting a digital lock on something shouldn't mean YOU get to decide what the customer does with something and how they interact with it.
eastbound 2y ago
Would be funny for software. “The customer rents a perpetual license of SublimeText” instead of purchases, for example.
- DaiPlusPlus 2y ago
  I think “purchase a license” is correct in the cases when the license is perpetual and transferable, such as with (I’m showing my age…) boxed-software. …which is funny when large companies do it, because major software vendors expect they’ll only ever negotiate a non-perpetual, non-transferable license but in exchange they get major product updates for free so long as they pay-up (e.g. Microsoft’s “Software Assurance”) - whereas some companies find buying up liquidation-sales of ye olde boxed licenses is cheaper than SA (e.g. https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/06/valuelicensing_microsoft_trial_date/ https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/06/valuelicensing_micros... ).
  - throwaway48476 2y ago
    "License" by itself conveys the same meaning without conflating the act with purchase.
- ncallaway 2y ago
  I think the word purchase should be allowed if you’re acquiring a perpetual, irrevocable, transferable license. If a license meets those three elements, and there’s some actual mechanism for being able to self-backup the software/media/etc, then I would be happy to allow them to use the word purchase or buy.

KingMob 2y ago

I agree that words like "buy" are deceptive, but changing the language won't fix the underlying problem that it's getting harder and harder to actually buy certain things permanently.

bornfreddy 2y ago
Not necessarily. The clear language would help consumers determine what they are getting out of the transaction. Many could decide it is not worth it or would search for a better deal elsewhere (where they could buy the book, not just rent it). I'm sure Amazon would come up with new ways to combat this though.
goosedragons 2y ago
Yeah, and so we should change the rules, not accept a weakening of the meaning of buy or make it more clear that you're renting. Companies already have an enforcement mechanism against copyright infringement. It's called the courts. They don't need DRM, they're just assholes. We need to place reasonable limitations on DRM use. They don't need to have DRM for the entire 50+ years of the copyright term. Putting a digital lock on something shouldn't mean YOU get to decide what the customer does with something and how they interact with it.

eastbound 2y ago

Would be funny for software. “The customer rents a perpetual license of SublimeText” instead of purchases, for example.

DaiPlusPlus 2y ago
I think “purchase a license” is correct in the cases when the license is perpetual and transferable, such as with (I’m showing my age…) boxed-software. …which is funny when large companies do it, because major software vendors expect they’ll only ever negotiate a non-perpetual, non-transferable license but in exchange they get major product updates for free so long as they pay-up (e.g. Microsoft’s “Software Assurance”) - whereas some companies find buying up liquidation-sales of ye olde boxed licenses is cheaper than SA (e.g. https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/06/valuelicensing_microsoft_trial_date/ https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/06/valuelicensing_micros... ).
- throwaway48476 2y ago
  "License" by itself conveys the same meaning without conflating the act with purchase.
ncallaway 2y ago
I think the word purchase should be allowed if you’re acquiring a perpetual, irrevocable, transferable license. If a license meets those three elements, and there’s some actual mechanism for being able to self-backup the software/media/etc, then I would be happy to allow them to use the word purchase or buy.