[newgeezer]

Maybe it's just me, but it sure seems like Netflix is grasping at straws lately. I can only guess it's just about time to stick a fork in Netflix.

[Yo-Yo]

I don't know what's gotten into the patent office, but for the past decade or so they'll issue a patent for just about anything and let the courts sort it out.

[frogjerk]

I don't understand how the Netflix operation can somehow be patented...

[AMHN]

I hope this applies to other absurd patents like "one click" from Amazon.

[RichInOC]

BLOCKBUSTER: HOW ARE YOU NETFLIX!!
BLOCKBUSTER: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US.
BLOCKBUSTER: HA HA HA HA....

[doc30]

Internet video rental company Netflix's legal claims against rival Blockbuster are based on "unenforceable patents," Blockbuster said in a counterclaim filed on Tuesday.

Be prepared for more and more of these types of patent lawsuits. It's the fault of the Patent Office for letting business models be patentable. It's a relatively recent decision they came up with. That's right. If you have a new idea on how to run a business or market a product, you can patent it and no one can use those business techniques you patented. So if Netflix pateneted the idea of renting DVDs through the mail order and/or internet ordering, they have a monopoly for the next couple of decades.

[D-Chivas]

Kind of like a buggy whip manufacturer patenting the "crack" sound.

[Brilliant]

I think Blockbuster will eventually win, but this is what they get for not being innovative and aggressive in their marketing. Someone else eats your lunch.