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Student sues Amazon over Kindle deletion

Class action suit for those affected by Orwell fiasco

31 July 2009 10:00 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

A 17-year-old high school student in the States is suing Amazon over its recent ill-advised remote deletion of two George Orwell titles from consumer's Kindles.

Amazon sold consumers the books - 1984 and Animal Farm - but later pulled them when it realised there were copyright issues with those particular versions. The move caused an outcry in the US, and led to a public apology from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who described the hasty move as "stupid".

However, for Justin D. Gawronski, the result was more than a question of improper access, as the student had bought an e-copy of 1984 for a summer assignment and had made electronic notes against the ebook, all of which were lost when Amazon deleted the title.

The class action lawsuit could see others join up to seek "injunctive relief" stopping Amazon from such action in the future, as well as asking for "monetary relief" for those who lost work as a result of Amazon's actions.

Via: tradingmarkets.com

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Biz, Amazon, Kindle, Lawsuits