Adobe Inc. is a multinational computer software company based in San Jose, California. It specializes in software for the creation and publication of a wide range of content, including graphics, photography, illustration, animation, multimedia/video, motion pictures, and print. Its products are widely used by amateurs and professionals in various industries. Adobe sells licenses to it products on a subscription basis.
After a number of complaints by Adobe users about the complexity of Adobe’s cancellation process and unfair termination fees, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an investigation into Adobe in 2022, focusing on its cancellation policies. In June, the Department of Justice (DOJ) on referral from the FTC, filed a lawsuit against Adobe and two of its executives in federal court. The complaint alleges that for years, Adobe has been deceiving customers by hiding its early termination fee for its most popular subscription plan, the Annual, Paid Monthly plan, and making it difficult for customers to cancel their subscriptions. The Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection stated, “Adobe trapped customers into year-long subscriptions through hidden early termination fees and numerous cancellation hurdles… Americans are tired of companies hiding the ball during subscription signup and then putting up roadblocks when they try to cancel.”
If you paid for a subscription to Adobe products within the past three years, and either cancelled and were charged an early termination fee or attempted to cancel but were prevented from doing so because of Adobe’s difficult and expensive cancellation process, you may qualify for a claim under your state’s consumer protection law of up to $500 or more, depending on your state of residence.
This is a case about consumer rights. We allege that Adobe failed to disclose important terms for its subscription pricing plans, including the early termination fee. We allege further that Adobe designed its cancellation process to be particularly difficult to discourage subscribers from cancelling so they would continue paying for expensive subscription plans for products they no longer wanted or used. We are representing clients in individual arbitration claims against Adobe for violating state consumer protection laws which require Adobe to fully disclose the terms of its subscription plans before customers enroll.