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Redbox Suing Disney Over Alleged Misuse of Copyright

January 27, 2018 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris
Disney

Deadline.com reports that Redbox filed a lawsuit against Disney’s home entertainment group. Redbox is claiming that the studio is using “hard-knuckled tactics” in order to prevent the movie rental kiosk service from renting or selling DVDs and halt the sale of digital movie downloads.

According to Redbox, the major studio has been interfering with Redbox’s relationships with suppliers and consumers by making false claims that Redbox cannot resell digital copies of movies. Redbox also says that the studio attempting to prop up the prices that consumers have to pay in order to bolster the studio’s planned direct-to-consumer offering.

The lawsuit, which was filed in a federal district court in Los Angeles, states, “Disney baldly seeks to stifle competition and eliminate low-cost options in order to maximize the prices it and its retailers charge consumers. Stopping Redbox’s sale of Disney products is a means to that end, which is an unhappy one for consumers.”

Redbox’s documents also add that the studio has been in opposition to the kiosk service since it first started. Disney was a major holdout with the Redbox vendor service, which is available at most grocery and convenience stores. Disney’s home distribution arm, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, complained that Redbox’s pricing was too low and could potentially threaten to depress prices on Disney titles.

Later on, the movie studio went to court to prevent Redbox from selling digital downloads with purchases as part of movie Combo Pacs. Redbox lawsuit also claimed: “Defendants’ actions are harming Redbox’s lawful sales of Disney digital movies. And the impact of that harm is not limited to the reduced revenue from those lost sales. Redbox’s entry into the digital market is being harmed as well. Because Disney is impeding Redbox’s ability to sell Redbox’s lawfully acquired Disney digital movies, consumers are being dissuaded from looking to Redbox as a source of titles that are in high demand.”

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Disney, Redbox, Jeffrey Harris