Virgin Media sells a movie you can lose in five years.

Virgin Media’s UK Store terms warn that restrictions imposed by third-party content providers can mean purchased content is available for a maximum of five years after purchase. The same terms say content cannot be transferred to another account.

That is a clear disclosure, but it does not make the bargain feel like ownership. The customer pays once, receives a library entry and accepts that the library can expire when a separate licensing arrangement changes.

The shelf is now a contract

Physical media is a durable object with its own limits. A digital purchase is a permission record whose life depends on the store, the territory and the rights holder. The difference should be visible in the button, the receipt and the product name.

‘Buy’ suggests possession. ‘Access for up to five years, non-transferable’ describes a limited licence. Customers can choose either, but they cannot choose what the interface refuses to name.

Download is the missing verb

A fair digital store should offer a durable download where rights allow, a migration path when they do not, and a refund when access ends early. Without one of those remedies, the purchase is closer to prepaid streaming.

The UK’s subscription reforms are starting to focus on cancellation. Digital ownership needs the same clarity about what survives after checkout.