UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported) April 4, 2006
BLOCKBUSTER INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| DELAWARE | 001-15153 | 52-1655102 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (IRS Employer Identification No.) |
| 1201 Elm Street Dallas, Texas |
75270 | |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
(214) 854-3000
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
| ¨ | Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| ¨ | Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| ¨ | Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
| Item 8.01 | Other Events. |
On April 4, 2006, a lawsuit styled Netflix, Inc. v. Blockbuster, Inc. was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No. C-06-2361-BZ). The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Blockbuster has sold and/or offered for sale in the United States a service that infringes two Netflix patents by copying Netflix’s patented business method, including but not limited to copying Netflix’s dynamic queue, copying Netflix’s method of sending DVDs to subscribers based on ranked order of titles in their queue and copying Netflix’s method of allowing subscribers to update and reorder their queue. The lawsuit also alleges that Blockbuster has actively induced and/or contributed to others’ infringement of the two patents. The lawsuit seeks a preliminary and/or permanent injunction enjoining Blockbuster from any further acts of infringement of the two patents, unspecified compensatory damages, reasonable costs and expenses, and such other relief as the court deems proper. Blockbuster believes that the claims are without merit and intends to defend itself vigorously in the lawsuit.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| BLOCKBUSTER INC. | ||||||||
| Date: April 6, 2006 |
By: | /s/ Larry J. Zine | ||||||
| Larry J. Zine Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer | ||||||||