Disappearing Digital Media
By Micah Chandler
Many streaming services offer the option to buy movies or episodes of a television series, but that doesn’t mean that the purchaser now owns the movie or episode forever. Instead, what is being offered is a license, or permission, to view the movie or the episode, which can end if the streaming service itself loses the license to offer the movie to consumers. Is there a way for consumers to keep their access to movies they paid for despite whatever happens to the streaming service’s license to the movie or episode?