The New York State Exhibitor (1933)

F Page 16 Augl0'33 YOUR THEATRE The Proposed Code of the M.P.T.O.A. PREAMBLE To provide for increased employment, to create a shorter working week, and to improve standards of labor ; to eliminate the waste and burden of unfair trade practices destructive of the interests of the public, the employees, and employers of exhibition branch of the motion picture industry ; and in full accord with the efforts of our government in meet¬ ing the conditions of our present national emer¬ gency, and with a sincere desire to fully effectuate the policy of Title 1 of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the following provisions are estab¬ lished as a code of fair competition for the Motion Picture Industry as relates to exhibition. (While the general level of wages among the employees of our industry is higher than the mini¬ mum wage hereinafter set out, it is to be considered that a no small number of our theatres are located in and are providing the only means of recreation and amusement for the small cities, towns and vil¬ lages throughout the United States, where the cost of living and wages are less than that in the in¬ dustrial centers.) MINIMUM WAGE SCALE COVERING ALL EMPLOYEES REQUIRED IN THEATRES— On and after the effective date, the minimum wage that shall be paid by employers in the exhibition branch of the motion picture industry to any of the em¬ ployees engaged therein — except ushers and cleaners — shall be at the rate of 30c per hour. On and after the effective date employers in the exhibition branch of the motion picture industry shall not operate on a schedule of hours of labor for their employees, except office and supervisor staffs, firemen and watchmen, in excess of 36 hours per week. (Ed. Note: NR A Drive probably changes this. ) 1. STANDARD LICENSE AGREEMENT — The Optional Standard License Agreement already nego¬ tiated and used by a majority of the distributors shall be used exclusively by all distributors, with the “ optional ” arbitration clause of same eliminated. Where the provisions of the Standard License Agreement are in conflict with the provisions of this Code, the Code shall prevail. 2. ARBITRATION — All trade disputes, controver¬ sies, and disputes and claims arising under exhibition contracts shall be submitted to a local arbitration board equally representative of exhibitors and dis¬ tributors for final determination. The findings of such arbitration board shall be binding and enforce¬ able against either party to the dispute. 3. MAXIMUM CLEARANCE AND ZONING SCHEDULES — Exhibitors in any exchange territory may agree with distributors upon the formulation and adoption by exhibitors and distributors of schedules limiting the maximum clearance that may be granted by distributors to Exhibitors according to a classification of theatres by zones, or otherwise. Each such agreement shall be made by a representa¬ tive committee of which two shall be representa¬ tives of distributors, two representatives of first run theatres, and four representatives of subsequent run theatres. No exhibitor shall serve as a representa¬ tive of both first and subsequent run theatres. All disputes concerning such schedules shall be determined by arbitrators equally representative of distributors and exhibitors with the right of appeal to a National Board of Appeals, as provided for in the new optional standard license agreement. 4. PERSONNEL OF THE NATIONAL BOARD OF APPEALS — The personnel of the National Board of Appeals shall be as provided in the proposal for a National Board of Appeals proposed in connection with the Optional Standard License Agreement. This National Board of Appeals shall be constituted as follows: For the purpose of hearing appeals or conciliating complaints not involving a circuit of theatres affiliated with a producer or distributor, the National Board of Appeals shall consist of three unaffiliated exhibitors and three distributor repre¬ sentatives. For the purpose of hearing appeals or conciliating complaints involving a circuit of theatres affiliated with a producer or distributor, the National Board of Appeals shall consist of either (a) four unaffillated exhibitors, two distributor representatives and two affiliated circuit representatives; or (b) two unaffiliated exhibitors, one distributor representative and one affiliated circuit representative, and the action of a majority shall be the action of the National Board. It is important that both parties to the controversy have fair and equal representa¬ tion of disinterested parties who are generally fa¬ miliar with the business. Selection of unaffiliated exhibitor members can be made by the National exhibitor associations or by lot from a panel of unaffiliated exhibitors conveniently located. 5. FAIR CLEARANCE — No exhibitor shall demand nor be granted in any license agreement clearance, in time or area beyond that which under all cir¬ cumstances and conditions then prevailing in the locality where the exhibitor’s theatre is situated, is reasonable and fair. 6. MAXIMUM CLEARANCE — No exhibitor in ter¬ ritories where there exists a maximum clearance and zoning schedule shall receive clearance in excess of the applicable maximum therein provided. 7. SALES POLICY — If a distributing company represents a sales policy as a national policy any deviation therefrom must be publicly announced. 8. ALLOCATION OF CERTAIN FILM RENTALS — If feature pictures are licensed by a distributor under a license agreement by which the distributor has the right to assign pictures at a later date to different price group or classification, or in which pictures are not described or identified, permitting the distributor to assign pictures not so identified to various film rentals, then the distributor shall, at the conclusion of the contract, provided the ex¬ hibitor is not in default thereunder, and provided the percentage of the total number of features con¬ tracted for in each price group has not been released by the distributor, adjust the total film rental on the basis of the average price per picture for the total number of pictures contracted for. 9. TYING IN SHORTS WITH FEATURES— Distributors shall not sell an exhibitor short subjects as a condition of contracting for feature pictures, or vice versa. 10. DATING RESTRICTIONS — No distributor shall refuse to date feature pictures because of a delinquency in the dating of the short subjects, nor refuse to date shorts on account of delinquency in the playing arrangement of the feature contract. 11. UNREASONABLE DISCRIMINATIONS— Un¬ reasonable discriminations in favor of chain theatres as against individual theatres, as to film rentals, the terms upon which exhibition rights are granted or the availability of prints shall be construed as unfair competition. 12. THREATS AND COERCION— Threats, in¬ timidation and/or the actual acquisition of theatres by a producer or distributor directly or indirectly, to create unfair competition and/or compel the leasing of pictures at a higher film rental should be expressly prohibited. 13. DISTRIBUTORS’ EMPLOYEES — No dis¬ tributor’s employee shall use his position with the distributor to interfere with the free and competitive buying of pictures by an exhibitor operating a theatre in competition with a theatre in which such employee may have a direct or indirect financial interest. 14. OFFER OF GRATUITY— No exhibitor shall give any gratuity or make any offer or promise of gratuity to a distributor or any representative of any distributor for the purpose of procuring advan¬ tages that would not otherwise be procurable or as an inducement to influence such distributor or repre¬ sentative not to deal with competing or other exhibitors. 15. INDUCEMENT TO BREACH CONTRACT— No exhibitor shall seek to induce or induce a dis¬ tributor or any representative of any distributor to breach any active contract licensing the exhibition of motion pictures with a competing or other exhibitor. 16. SELECTIVE CONTRACTS— Any exhibitor en¬ tering into a contract for the exhibition of motion pictures which permits the exhibitor to select from the total number of pictures licensed, less than eighty-five (85%) of the total number, and to reject the remainder, shall, by written notice to the dis¬ tributor reject each of such motion pictures not to exceed the number which may be rejected within twenty-one days after its date of availability in the exchange territory wherein is located the exhibitor’s theatre, and failing to give such notice of rejection, each, of such pictures shall be deemed to have been selected Where this section conflicts with the local zoning and clearance schedule, the latter shall prevail. 17. OVER SELLING — Distributors shall refrain from selling additional pictures to a theatre endeav¬ oring to buy more pictures than it can reasonably use with the intent of depriving a competing theatre of needed attractions. Where such a condition exists : (A) The exhibitor shall be required to release pictures on selective service contracts promptly. (B) The local arbitration board shall be empow¬ ered and shall investigate such situations on com¬ plaint and if necessary, secure the release of pictures to correct the situation. 18. OVERBUYING— No exhibitor shall contract for the license to exhibit more motion pictures than such exhibitor reasonably requires for exhibition in any theatre or theatres operated by such exhibitor and with the effect of depriving a competing ex¬ hibitor from contracting to exhibit such excess number of motion pictures. 19. ALLOCATION OF PRODUCT— No exhibitor shall agree with any other exhibitor or other ex¬ hibitors to allocate among them the motion pictures of distributors for the purpose of eliminating fair competition between such exhibitors in the bidding and negotiating for the motion pictures of such distributors. 20. DISCLOSURE OF CONTRACT TERMS— Any disclosure or exchange of film rental information, the purpose of which is to fix, maintain or reduce film rentals, by concerted action, expressed or im¬ plied, is an unfair trades practice and shall not be permitted. 21. MISUSE OF SIGNED APPLICATION— No exhibitor shall use any signed application for a license to exhibit the motion picture of a distributor with the effect or purpose of inducing any other distributor to lower the license fees of the motion pictures of such other distributors. 22. TRANSFER TO AVOID CONTRACTS— No exhibitor shall transfer the ownership or possession of a theatre operated by any such exhibitor for the purpose of avoiding uncompleted contracts for the exhibition of motion pictures at such theatre. 23. CUT-RATE COMPETITION— Distributors shall refuse to permit the exhibition of their pictures at unreasonably low admission prices in competition with a theatre charging a fair admission scale. This proposal for a code of standards of fair competi¬ tion in the exhibition of mo¬ tion pictures was formulated by the executive committee of the Motion Picture The¬ atre Owners of America, meeting in Chicago. It should be studied by every exhibitor as it touches the major prob¬ lems of this industry. The Board of Directors of that body have received it and state units are now study¬ ing it.