Redbox scores in first round for the fight for $1 day-and-date rentals
The first preliminary verdict came down against Universal yesterday when a judge refused to dismiss anti-trust charges. Redbox filed two other charges that didn't experience the same fate though, but we'd bet that Redbox was just hoping that at least one would stick. In the suit that did, the claim is that by instructing distributors to refuse to sell Universal titles to Redbox for the first 45 days after release, that Universal is using its influence to prevent Redbox from competing in the movie rental busines. This is far from a verdict though, and with Redbox buying Universal titles at retail, and the fact that this thing has already been going on for some time now, we'd be surprised if any of this was resolved any time soon.
