Film year book (1948)

tion; Columbia Pictures Corporation; Colum bia Pictures of Louisiana, Inc.; Universal Corporation; Universal Film Exchanges, Inc.; Big U Film Exchange, Inc.; and United Artists Corporation; and the successors of each of them, and any and all individuals who act in behalf of any thereof with respect to the matters enjoined, and each corporation in which said defendants or any of them own a direct or indirect stock interest of more than fifty per cent, is hereby enjoined: 1. From granting any license in which minimum prices for admission to a theater are fixed by the parties, either in writing or through a committee, or through arbitration, or upon the happening of any event or in any manner or by any means. 2. From agreeing with each other or with any exhibitors or distributors to maintain a system of clearances; the term "clearances" as used herein meaning the period of time stipulated in license contracts which must elapse between runs of the same feature within a particular area or in specified theaters. 3. From granting any clearances between theaters not in substantial competition. 4. From granting or enforcing any clearance against theaters in substantial competition with the theater receiving the license for exhibition in excess of what is reasonably necessary to protect the licensee in the run granted. Whenever any clearance provision is attacked as not legal under the provision of this decree, the burden shall be upon the distributor to sustain the legality thereof. 5. From further performing any existing franchise to which it is a party and from making any franchisees in the future. The term 'franchise" as used herein means a licensing agreement or series of licensing agreements, entered into as a part of the same transaction, in effect for more than one motion picture season and covering the exhibition of pictures released by one distributor during the entire period of agreement. 6. From making or further performing anv formula deal or master agreement to which it is a party. The term "formula deal" as used herein means a licensing agreement with a circuit of theaters in which the license fee of a given feature is measured for the theaters covered by the agreement by a specified percentage of the feature's national gross. The term "master agreement" means a licensing agreement, also known as a "blanket deal" covering the exhibition of features in a number of theaters usually comprising a circuit. 7. From performing or entering into any license in which the right to exhibit one feature is conditioned upon the licensee's taking one or more other features. To the extent that any of the features have not been trade shown prior to the granting of the license for more than a single feature, the licensee shall be given by the licensor the right to reject twenty per cent of such features not trade shown prior to the granting of the license, such right of rejection to be exercised in the order of release within ten days after there has been an opportunity afforded to the licensee to inspect the feature. 8. From licensing in the future any feature for exhibition in any theater, not its own, in any manner except the following: (a) A license to exhibit each feature released for public exhibition in any competitive area shall be offered to the operator of each theater in such area who desires to exhibit it on some run (other than that upon which such feature is to be exhibited in the theater of the licensor) selected by such operator, and upon uniform terms: (b) Each license shall be granted solelv upon the merits and without discrimination in favor of affiliates, old customers or others; (c) Where a run is desired, or is to be offered, upon terms which exclude simultaneous exhibition in competing theaters, the distributor shall notify, not less than thirty days in advance of the date when bids will be received, all exhibitors in the competitive area, offering to license the features upon one or more runs, and in such offer shall state the amount of a flat rental as the minimum for such license for a specified number of days of exhibition, the time when the exhibition is to commence and the availability and clearance, if any, which will be granted for each such run. Within fifteen days after receiving such notice, anv exhibitor in such competitive area may bid for such license, and in his bid shall state what run such exhibitor desires and what he is willing to pay for such feature, which statement may specify a flat rental, or a percentage of gross receipts, or both, or any other form of rental, and shall also specify what clearance such exhibitor is willing to accept, the lime and days when such exhibitor desires to exhibit it, and any other offers which such exhibitor mav care to make. The distributor may reject all offers made for anysuch feature, but in the event of the acceptance of any, the distributor shall grant such license upon the run bid for to the highest responsible bidder, having a theater of a size, location and equipment adequate to yield a reasonable return to the licensor. The method of licensing specified in this sub division shall not be required in areas where there is no competition among theaters or in run, or in which there is no offer made by any exhibitor within the time above mentioned. The words "exclude simultaneous exhibition" shall be held to mean the exhibition of a specified run in one the ater with clearance over other theaters in