It’s bad enough when the dog eats your homework; when your super gizmo gulps it down, it doesn’t even skulk in the corner. But consolation may still be at hand, for while you can’t sue your dog, you can sue your gadget’s makers.

That’s the route being taken by Justin D. Gawronski, whose summer assignment was scuppered when Amazon pulled the plug.

The 17-year-old student from Michigan, US, had downloaded George Orwell’s 1984 on to his Kindle, an electronic reader, and made notes in the electronic “margins”. But last month Amazon remotely deleted the book after realising it did not have permission to sell it. Although Justin’s notes remain, without the text alongside they have become useless.

Amazon has apologised for its heavy-handed action, but Justin, along with another disgruntled Kindle-user, has filed a lawsuit, claiming the company is guilty of illegal hacking and violating its own terms of service.