Amazon Prime Video is one of several streaming services vying for your monthly customer base in 2026. Unlike Netflix, Hulu, and some of the other major streaming platforms, Prime Video lets you buy or rent movies and shows, in addition to streaming. All the media you have purchased is stored in your Amazon account and you can watch the titles online and offline if you download them. But actually you don’t own a library full of cinematic or episodic content. Amazon, as well as any other media provider that lets you buy movies and shows like Apple TV, is really just lending them to you.
When you buy or rent a movie or show on a streaming service like Amazon Prime, all you’re doing is purchasing a limited digital license. Think of it as a glorified license to watch a movie whenever you want, with a few caveats. The first is that you must have an active Amazon account. This doesn’t mean you need a Prime membership, as you can rent content without a subscription. Amazon must also own the streaming rights to the title you purchased. Unfortunately, it’s this last caveat that can get a little tricky when dealing with digital audiences.
Many streaming apps build large portions of their libraries from licensed content rather than originals, whether it’s a movie or multiple seasons of a binge-worthy show on Prime. This means that a distributor like Universal allows Amazon to allow its customers to purchase a license to watch a movie or show. If Amazon decides to let its license expire (as it did with this Reddit user’s film), the distributor has the right to remove the content, which means it will likely be removed from your Amazon account as well.
Owning physical media also simply means having a license to watch it
Ditching streaming in favor of physical media can be a real treat for movie fans. The same goes for hi-fi enthusiasts who like to expand their vinyl record archives and video game collectors who can’t resist buying another disc or cartridge. But technically you don’t own any of these forms of media either; the physical product East the license that allows you to consume the movie, show, music or game privately.
You don’t own the copyright to any movie or show on your entertainment shelf, which is why you could get in trouble if you decide to distribute duplicate media in any way, or exhibit it transactionally (for example, a large public viewing party for which you charge admission). An exception is when media enters the public domain, meaning the copyright is no longer valid. A recent example is “Steamboat Willie,” a 1928 Disney animated short featuring an old Mickey Mouse drawing that has entered the public domain and is no longer protected. Disney’s copyright has expired, meaning the “Steamboat Willie” design can now be legally shared, performed, reused, repurposed or sampled. Educational purposes and fair use are other exceptions to typical copyright restrictions.
