Apple Overcharges, Misrepresents Digital Content It Sells to iTunes Customers, Claims Class Action

Apple iTunes Digital Content Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: A pair of consumers lodged a class action lawsuit against Apple Inc. 
• Why: The pair claim Apple doesn’t tell customers the digital content they purchase is only for a license that can later be revoked.
• Where: The class action lawsuit is pending in New York federal court.

Apple Inc overcharges consumers on digital content they buy from its iTunes store and related apps because it is only selling a license to the item, not its actual title, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiffs Trenise McTyere and Lucille Clark claim Apple misrepresents digital content as for “sale” when transactions involving them are actually just for its license, which can later be revoked. 

McTyere and Clark want to represent a Class of New York consumers who purchased digital content from Apple.

The plaintiffs say they both lost access to digital content they purchased from Apple after the company terminated its licensing agreement with the item’s owner. 

“Unlike in a true sale, Defendant can never pass title to the purchasing consumer,” points out the class action lawsuit. 

Apple Dupes Consumers With ‘Buy,’ ‘Rent’ Options in iTunes Store

Apple does not actually have any ownership over the digital content it sells on iTunes and is simply operating on a licensing arrangement that can be revoked without warning, according to the class action lawsuit. 

McTyere and Clark claim that Apple is required to remove the content if and when a licensing agreement is terminated, causing consumers to lose access to items they believed they had full ownership of and continued access to in their iTunes library. 

Apple does not inform its customers that they don’t actually own the digital content they purchase because it knows they would not be willing to pay as much for it, the class action lawsuit alleges. 

“If (Apple) called the transaction what it really is, some type of sublicensing arrangement, it could not charge nearly as much as it charges for the Digital Content by misrepresenting to consumers that it is a sale,” states the class action lawsuit. 

McTyere and Clark claim Apple is guilty of unjust enrichment and in violation of New York General Business Law. 

Plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and seeking monetary damages including but not limited to statutory, compensatory, incidental, or consequential for themselves and all Class Members. 

Apple is facing multiple legal actions, including a similar class action lawsuit lodged by California iTunes users in April. 

Earlier this month, the company asked a California federal judge to reverse a ruling which would require the company to allow app developers to use third-party payment systems on its App Store. 

Also this month, Apple asked a judge to approve a $95 million class action settlement with customers who claimed the tech giant didn’t honor its AppleCare Warranty when it replaced broken iPhones and iPads with inferior “remanufactured” units.

Have you purchased digital content from Apple on its iTunes store or from a related app? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Michael R. Reese, Carlos F. Ramirez, Charles D. Moore, and George V. Granade of Reese LLP. 

The Apple iTunes Digital Content Class Action Lawsuit is McTyere, et al. v. Apple Inc., Case No. 1:21-cv-01133, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.

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