Netflix and GameFly Battle Plods On

It’s been awhile since we checked in on the Netflix/GameFly legal battle, but the rental firms are still duking it out.

To recap quickly, GameFly filed a complaint against the United States Postal Service last year, alleging that the USPS gave Netflix preferential treatment by manually processing their discs, while GameFly mailers were relegated to sorting machines, where discs were routinely crushed or maimed.

Now, as detailed by Home Media Magazine, in a filing from Netflix, the rental firm claims that GameFly is simply attempting to “gain for free” what Netflix obtained after significant market research. NetFlix wrote, “Instead of investing the time and resources that Netflix has in reducing its costs … GameFly is attempting to get reduced postage costs … so they can get the economic equivalent of what Netflix has achieved on its [disc] breakage reduction.”

Netflix also argued that GameFly was trying to “manipulate” the USPS into granting it a reduced rate for its mailers.

GameFly apparently stopped using protective inserts in its mailer in order to meet a one ounce weight limit put on first class mail. Adding the inserts would bump their mailers to two ounces, and the corresponding rate from 44 cents to one dollar. Netflix also uses a shipping method where return postage for their mailing is pre-paid, which was billed as “less labor intensive.”

Netflix also more or less threatened that any decision favoring GameFly would likely see it reduce disc-based shipments and have it focus even more on streaming services.