Zediva ceases remote DVD playback operations

By
Michael Arrington

November 03, 2011

The US District Court for the Central District of California October 28 awarded The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) a permanent injunction against Zediva's parent company WTV Systems for copyright infringement and the company has agreed to pay punitive damages of $1.8m to the six studios that brought suit against it in April 2011. The MPAA had received a preliminary injunction against the company at the beginning of August.

In mid-March Zediva launched a new online movie service that gave consumers the ability to rent and watch a movie remotely, streaming the output disc playing at the company's facilities directly to their home. The company offered individual rentals for $1.99 for a 14-day period during which a user could gain exclusive access to a disc, if available, during a four-hour window. The Zediva site notes that it has suspended operations to comply with the injunction and that it is determining its next steps and hopes to be back online soon.

Zediva had banked on a liberal interpretation of the first-sale doctrine; that its service would be seen as no different from one that offered users at-home disc rental. The US District Court disagreed with that concept, in line with several previous rulings including a 1991 finding against a similar system employed in hotels by On Command. It remains to be seen whether Zediva can bring an alternate version of its system online, whether it must move to a typical streaming model, or whether it will close its doors altogether - though the first option seems the least likely unless the injunction can be overturned.

Tags:

Countries: USA
Companies: MPAA Zediva