Amazon.com was taken to task earlier this month after it deleted unauthorised copies of George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, with critics accusing the leader in the e-book industry of Big Brotherish behaviour.
Amazon eventually gave the affected customers refunds, and chief executive Jeff Bezos apologised for the episode, calling it “stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles.” But the damage to Amazon’s reputation had already been done.
Now the incident has sparked a lawsuit. A 17-year-old high school student from Michigan is suing Amazon in federal court in Seattle, claiming that the notes he typed on his Kindle were rendered useless after his copy of 1984 was deleted. The notes are still there, but without the e-book to link to, the student, Justin Gawronski says they are of no value. Mr Gawronski, who cites another plaintiff, is seeking class-action status for his case.
Mr Gawronski said he hopes to ensure that Amazon refrains from deleting books from Kindles in the future. But in the wake of the original incident, Amazon already made that very pledge. Mr Gawronski, of course, is also asking for cash compensation.
While the incident was embarrassing for Amazon, and may have proved inconvenient to Mr Gawronski, it may be hard to argue in court that the unlinking of a high schooler’s notes from his e-book is deserving of monetary compensation.
Amazon declined to comment.
