Skip to main content

Zediva DVD streaming service ordered to shut down

Zediva (Black Swan)

Back in March, DVD streaming service Zediva raised a few eyebrows when it claimed to be able to offer streaming versions of just-released DVD movies using a novel approach: customers didn’t just rent the DVD remotely, they also rented a DVD player remotely, and received the output over the Internet. Zediva argued that their business model was no different than a traditional video rental store, but—unsurprisingly—the MPAA disagreed and filed suit for copyright infringement, claiming Zediva did not have the right to stream its members content. Now federal judge John F. Walker has agreed, granting a preliminary injunction that bars Zediva from providing streaming movies.

“Defendants are violating Plaintiffs’ exclusive right to publicly perform their Copyrighted Works,” Judge Walker wrote in his ruling. Walker ruled that damages to the movie studios outweighed any hardship Zediva might suffer as a result of the injunction.

“[The] decision is a great victory for the more than two million American men and women whose livelihoods depend on a thriving film and television industry,” said MPAA senior VP and associate general counsel Dan Robbins, in a statement (PDF)

Zediva has argued that granting the injunction would potentially destroy their business, and most industry watchers agree: the DVD streaming operation (apparently run off banks of DVD players in a Silicon Valley data center) is Zediva’s only current product or offering, and without being able to stream movies to customers, it’s hard to see how the company will continue operating. Nonetheless, the company apparently intends to pursue its case, vowing to stand up for consumers’ rights to watch DVDs they’ve rented, whether that be from a brick-and-mortar store or from an online service.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Netflix to crack down on password sharing starting in 2023
Netflix app icon on Apple TV.

Following pilot programs in several Latin American countries earlier this year, Netflix has decided to crack down on password sharing globally.

It’ll do this by charging a little bit extra to the main account holder for each user who’s accessing that account but living in a different household. The additional fee hasn’t been revealed yet, but if it’s similar to the pilot programs, then account holders should expect to pay around $3 per month to include up to two people who live outside their household.

Read more
FuboTV shuts down its nascent gambling business
FuboTV app icon on Apple TV.

FuboTV today announced some preliminary financials for the third quarter of 2022 that show higher-than-expected growth, "continued progression" toward becoming a profitable business, and the shuttering of its nascent gambling service.

First, the good: FuboTV says its Q3 numbers will be better than it thought, with at least 1.22 million total subscribers. That's up from just under 947,000 subs at the end of the second quarter and an increase of more than 27% year over year. (FuboTV prefers year over year numbers because of the seasonal nature of sports viewing, which makes up a good portion of its strategic plans.)

Read more
Amazon Prime Video is failing with its Thursday Night Football stream
Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video.

October 6 marked the fourth installment of Thursday Night Football this season, and several things are now clear. First, the Colts-Broncos matchup wasn't worth scheduling in the first place, let alone staying up for overtime in a game that didn't see a single touchdown. Hindsight is 20/20 though.

Second — and this is the part that's actually important — Amazon Prime Video still has some serious work to do if it doesn't want to continue to be dog-cussed by a number of customers each week.

Read more