Andre Yoskowitz
27 Jun 2007 15:29
The online rental giant Blockbuster has decided to settle with Netflix over accusations that it had infringed on a couple of Netlfix's online DVD rental patents when it launched Blockbuster Online.
In April 2006, Netflix accused Blockbuster of infringing on two patents and subsequently asked a judge to bar the company from allowing online rentals. The patents included the concept of the automatic queue and the concept of keeping DVDs for an unlimited amount of time "without incurring additional charges and to prioritize and reprioritize their own personal dynamic queue--of DVDs to be rented."
Netflix accused Blockbuster of completely ignoring the patents when they opened Blockbuster Online and Netflix added that the lawsuit "had to be taken in order to protect its business interests."
Blockbuster then countersued and accused Netflix of fraud and antitrust violations. The company also said the patents were very broad and therefore impossible to be enforced.
The terms of the settlement were not released but Blockbuster noted that it would not have any material effect on future revenue.
Source:
BetaNews