Blockbuster settles Netflix patent suit

Netflix Inc., the largest U.S. mail-order movie rental service, settled claims that Blockbuster Inc. illegally copied its method of letting customers order videos over the Internet.

The two companies “agreed to a mutually acceptable resolution” of a lawsuit filed in San Francisco federal court in April 2006, according to court filings. Terms of the agreement are confidential.

Netflix accused Blockbuster of using its patents to launch a rival online service in 2004. Blockbuster countered that Netflix claimed patent rights over methods it didn’t invent.