Blockbuster-Netflix Legal Battle Rages On
Back in April, Netflix sued Blockbuster for patent infringement. The lawsuit was originally filed in response to Blockbuster’s development of an online rental model (Blackhacker makes the interesting point that it is tough to determine what exactly is being patented here–the idea of maintaining a queue?). In response, Blockbuster filed an anti-trust suit, on the grounds that Netflix was establishing a monopoly on the online movie rental business. Apparently the suit was filed on the grounds that Netflix failed to reveal some of its earlier patented technology while applying for a new patent.
According to a link from Hacking Netflix, Netflix’s attempts to have this countersuit thrown out of court have been refused by U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup. The drama continues.