Zediva

Zediva was an online service that allowed users to 'rent' a physical DVD and have its content streamed to them over the internet. Founded in 2010 by Venky Srinivasan, who also served as the CEO, the company was based in Sunnyvale, California. Srinivasan, a co-founder of the chip design company TranSwitch, invested his own money to start Zediva.

The service's business model was based on a 'rent-a-DVD-player' concept. When a user selected a movie, a Zediva employee would physically insert the corresponding DVD into a DVD player located in the company's data center. The content was then streamed to the user's computer, with a webcam pointed at the player to technically fulfill the 'viewing' requirement. This method was designed to operate within a perceived loophole in copyright law, arguing it was a one-to-one rental of a physical disc rather than an on-demand streaming service. The company offered new releases for $1.99 and a 10-rental pack for $10.

However, this model led to significant legal challenges. In April 2011, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) filed a lawsuit against Zediva, alleging copyright infringement. The studios argued that Zediva's service constituted an unauthorized public performance. In August 2011, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against the company, forcing it to halt operations. Zediva officially shut down its service in October 2011 as part of a settlement with the movie studios. Keywords: DVD rental, movie streaming, copyright lawsuit, MPAA, rent-a-DVD, video on demand, home entertainment, legal dispute, online video, digital media