Rent Your New Movies, Virtually

Zediva might be a synonym for ingenious, if the company has its way. However, if copyright lawyers have their way, Zediva might also be synonymous for defunct company.

The company, a Sunnyvale, Calif., startup, has devised a method of movie rental such that fans can rent newly available movies online without having to wait the requisite 28 days by which competitors such as Netflix are constrained. How does Zediva do this? They get away with it by "renting" a DVD and a DVD player virtually. Records still show that Joe Vloggs the movie fan rented both the disc and the player, but neither item shows up in Joe's house; rather, the company applies the rental idea virtually, by making that movie available for live streaming online. The only thing that changes hands is money to cover the rental fee.

Joe can "rent" for four hours at a time, for $1.99 each time. Once the movie has started, he can pause the movie once in those four hours. He can also "keep" the DVD and player for up to 14 days without paying any extra money.

In that scenario, Joe is happy because he can see something like The Fighter not long after it came out, in the privacy of his own home, on DVD-quality transmissions (in other words, no bootlegging involved). Zediva likes it because it has Joe's money and hasn't had to spend a dime in shipping costs.

However, Netflix doesn't like it, and neither does Blockbuster.

No company has filed a lawsuit (yet). In fact, movie studios have refrained from commenting on the issue (probably because they're waiting for a risk analysis from their copyright lawyers).

Meanwhile, Joe can be happily munching on his handheld goodies as he watches the latest flicks in his mancave, enjoying (while he can) this innovative new approach to movie rentals.

He might want to hurry, though. Once the big-time copyright lawyers get their ducks in a row and their guns loaded, Zediva won't be around to service Joe anymore.