Redbox says altered cover art not infringing on copyright

Redbox last week disputed an industry analyst's claim that its altered display art for embargoed titles could be violating copyright laws, according toVideo Business.

The Coinstar company uses artwork different from the cover art shown on DVDs from Warner, Universal and 20th Century Fox at retailers such as Blockbuster and Best Buy because those studios won't distribute directly to movie-rental kiosks until at least several weeks after street date, according to the magazine.

But because the artwork is designed to look like that on the DVDs going to non-kiosk retailers, redbox could be violating copyright law, according to Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield.