The judge eventually ruled in favor of Redbox, writing that Disney’s restrictive licensing terms constituted a misuse of copyright.
The dispute between Disney and Redbox stems from the latter company purchasing Disney “Combo Packs,” Blu-Ray discs that include a digital download code for the same film, and then reselling the code to consumers at a discount compared to what purchasing a digital movie from Disney would cost.
While the code specifically stated it was not for sale or transfer, Redbox argued that under the first sale doctrine it had the right to do with the code what they wished because they purchased it legally.