Netflix sues Blockbuster, MSNBC.com - 4/4/06

[OogieBoogie]

Some people can't handle a little competition I guess....

Blockbuster lawsuit: Netflix sues rival

Online retail giant alleges patent infringement, court filing shows



BREAKING NEWS
Updated: 5:59 p.m. ET April 4, 2006

PASADENA, Calif. - Online DVD rental company Netflix Inc. on Tuesday sued rival Blockbuster Inc. for patent infringement, asking a federal judge in Northern California to shut down Blockbuster's 18-month-old online rental service and award Netflix damages, according to a copy of the filing.

[disneytim]

I hope Blockbuster wins. I use them now (after trying Netflix) and I get much better service. Their turnaround time is faster and new releases are available sooner (Netflix' new releases were "sold out" most of the time).

Is it really "copyright infringement" if you do the exact same thing your competition does, only better?

[BFJen]

I have blockbuster and really like it - it will be interesting to see what happens.

[Nephythys]

I had Blockbuster and hated it. It took a week to clear a movie, and it got worse and worse the longer I tried the service. Switched to NetFlix, they get them back and cleared in less than 24 hours, and I get a movie almost always the next day. Sometimes it takes two, but that is rare.

my Netflix (says I, watching Spirited Away which came in the mail today)

[twinmom]

I love Netflix too! Never have had any problems (other than my queue being WAY too long ).

[Cindebella]

I've had netflix pretty much since they started. I had so many problems with Blockbuster in their store that I didn't have alot of faith in their online service. I found the video on the shelf that they said I hadn't returned and charged my credit card for some incredible amount and had them cancel my membership. That wasn't the first time we had to do that either. Haven't been back since.

[sir clinksalot]

We have also had Netflix since the early days and we love it.

[FrumiousBoojum]

Hope Blockbuster wins... mostly because if they don't, it'll probably shut down other rental sites eventually, like GameFly and NicheFlix.

[BFJen]

I've never had a problem with Blockbuster, and I really like the free in-store movie rentals I get every month.

[Cuzco-topia]

BB never has the movie selection NF does. I'm a big fan of NF ever since it started. I rarely, if ever go to BB....and it's it's just down the street.

[Alchimedes]

I'm actually surprised this didn't happen sooner. Frankly, I would like to see BB lose on this one.


Lot of bad experiences with BB stores. I like the selections I can choose from, especially when it comes to outside foreign films and documentarys.

[robotpirates]

I love Netflix. You can find anything on that site, and they did start it. But I am worried that they will try and shut down other sites like GameFly, even though that has to do with a completely different media.

NETFLIX FTW!

[FrumiousBoojum]

I've been considering switching to NicheFlix, though... NetFlix only offers Region 1 movies. NicheFlix has a much better variety of movies from all over the world that has never made it to Region 1.

[dramaqueen]

I read an article about this in Newsweek a while ago. Netflix does own a patent on internet-to-mail DVD rentals. They have just chosen not to enforce it until now because Blockbuster and Wal-Mart's share of the market was so small. This is one that Netflix will probably win because they are actually right and not making a fuss over nothing.

The original article I read talked about how Blockbuster and other "brick" video rental stores would be obsolete soon because of the sucess of Netflix. The article predicted that Blockbuster's foray into the internet rental market would be unsucessful because of the high overhead involved in running the stores themselves.

Apparantly Blockbuster has become enough of a competitor to make enforcing the patent worthwhile.

[sediment]

I think there might be a patent infringement if the computer code that BB uses to do its business is the same as NetFlix's.

I don't see how some company can own a patent on a method of distribution if there are an infinite number of ways to make that distribution work.

Also, this ruling should not be based on one's personal opinion of either company. The decision could easily affect a number of other companies and businesses and people. Suppose Netflix wins. Does this mean that Amazon can go after every other book seller on the internet? Can eBay go after every other auction site?