Netflix Sues Blockbuster

When Blockbuster launched its online rental service, I wondered why Netflix didn't sue them since Blockbuster seemed to have copied every aspect of Netflix's business model. They had a monthly subscription fee, they allowed the renters to hold on to movies for an unlimited number of days, they had the concept of a rental queue, etc. But instead of suing them, Netflix went in for a price war.

But 18 months after Blockbuster launched its service, Netflix has sued it for patent infringement. The company is asking for a shutdown of Blockbuster's online service and for damages. Better late than never!

But an analyst says the challenge probably won't be upheld by the court since Netflix is suing so late. There's another interesting line of thought. With Netflix being threatened by video-on-demand through the internet, another article says that the company is just trying to make itself more attractive for a buyout by Amazon (which has already rolled out an online rental service in the UK) before the video-on-demand threat becomes bigger.