The Philadelphia Exhibitor (Oct-Dec 1933)

2c Dec 1 ’ 33 CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION CODE OF FAIR COMPETITION FOR THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY PREAMBLE This Code is established for the purpose of effectuating the policy of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act and shall be binding upon all those engaged in the motion picture industry. ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS 1. The term “motion picture industry” as used herein shall be deemed to include, without limita¬ tion, the production, distribution or exhibition of motion pictures and all activities normally related thereto, except as specifically excepted from the operation of this Code. 2. The term “Producer” shall include, without limitation, all persons, partnerships, associations and corporations who shall engage or contract to engage in the production of motion pictures. 3. The term “distributor” shall include, without limitation, all persons, partnerships, associations and corporations who shall engage or contract to engage in the distribution of motion pictures. 4. The term “Exhibitor” shall include, without limitation, all persons, partnerships, associations and corporations, engaged in the ownership or operation of theatres for the exhibition of motion pictures. 5. The term “legitimate production” as used herein shall be deemed to refer to theatrical per¬ formances of dramatic and musical plays per¬ formed on the stage by living persons. 6. The term “employee” as used herein shall be deemed to refer to and include every person em¬ ployed by any Producer, Distributor or Exhibitor as hereinabove defined. 7. The term “clearance” as used herein shall be deemed to refer to that interval of time between the conclusion of the exhibition of a motion pic¬ ture at a theatre licensed to exhibit such motion picture prior in time to its exhibition at another theatre or theatres and the commencement of exhi¬ bition at such other theatre or theatres. 8. The term “zone” as used herein shall be deemed to refer to any defined area embraced within the operations of a local clearance and zoning board. 9. The term “non-theatrical account" as used herein shall be deemed to refer to churches, schools and other places where motion pictures are ex¬ hibited but which are not operated in the usual and ordinary course of the business of operating a theatre for the exhibition of motion pictures. 10. The term “affiliated Exhibitor” as used herein shall be deemed to refer to an Exhibitor in the business of operating a motion picture theatre which business is owned, controlled or managed by a Producer or Distributor or in which a Producer or a Distributor has a financial interest in the ownership, control, or management thereof. The mere ownership, however, by a Producer or Dis¬ tributor of any theatre premises leased to an Ex¬ hibitor, shall not constitute any such Exhibitor an “Affiliated Exhibitor.” 11. The term “unaffiliated Exhibitor” as used herein shall be deemed to refer to an Exhibitor en¬ gaged in the business of operating a motion picture theatre which business is not owned, controlled or managed by any Producer or Distributor or in which no Producer or Distributor has an interest in the ownership, management or control thereof. 12. The term “Outside or Associated Producer” as used herein shall refer to a Producer of motion pictures, including features, short subjects, and/or cartoons, and which Producer operates his or its own production unit independently of, though in conjunction with, another Producer or Distributor under whose trade name or trade mark the produc¬ tions of said Outside or Associated Producer are released and distributed. 13. The term “Administrator” as used herein shall be deemed to mean the National Recovery Administrator. 14. The term “effective date” shall be and this Code shall become effective on the tenth day fol¬ lowing the approval of this Code by the Preiident of the United States. 15. Population, for the purposes of this Code, shall be determined by reference to the 1930 Fed¬ eral Census. ARTICLE II ADMINISTRATION 1. A Code Authority of the Motion Picture Industry constituted as in this Article provided and herein referred to as the "Code Authority” shall be the agency for the administration of this Code, and shall have such powers as shall be neces¬ sary therefor, • together with such other powers and duties as are prescribed in this Code. 2. (a) The Code Authority shall consist of the following : Representing affiliated Producers, Distributors and Exhibitors Merlin H. Aylesworth, Sidney R. Kent, George J. Schaefer, Nicholas M. Schenck, Harry M. Warner. Representing unaffiliated Producers, Distribu¬ tors and Exhibitors Robert H. Cochrane, W.. Ray Johnston, Ed Kuykendall, Charles L. O’Reilly, Nathan Yamins. (b) As and when any question directly or indirectly affecting any class of employees en¬ gaged in the motion picture industry is to be con¬ sidered by the Code Authority, one representative of such class, selected by the Administrator from nominations made by such class in such manner as may be prescribed by the Adminis¬ trator, shall sit with and become for such pur¬ poses a member of the Code Authority with a right to vote. (c) The Administrator may designate not more than three additional persons without vote who shall not have any direct, personal interest in the motion picture industry nor represent any interest adverse to the interest of those engaged therein, as representatives of the Administration. (d) In case of the absence, resignation, ineli¬ gibility or incapacity of any member of the Code Authority to act, an alternate of the same gen¬ eral class of the industry and a bona fide execu¬ tive or, a bona fide Exhibitor, as the case may be. designated by such member shall act tempor¬ arily in place of such member. Such designated alternate shall be certified to the Code Authority by such member but the Code Authority may reject such alternate and require another to be so designated. (e) Each alternate designated by a member of the Code Authority to be a permanent alternate for such member shall be approved by the Administrator. (f) In the event any member of the Code Authority is unable for any reason to designate his alternate, the Code Authority, subject to the approval of the Administrator, shall select such alternate from the same general class as that of such member. (g) No employer in the industry shall have more than one representative at any time upon the Code Authority. (h) A vacancy in the Code Authority subject to being filled in the same manner as above pro¬ vided in subsection (f) of this Section, shall exist when any member shall cease to be a bona fide executive or a bona fide Exhibitor. 3. The Code Authority may make such rules as to meetings and other procedural matters as it may from time to time determine. 4. The Code Authority may from time to time appoint Committees which may include or be con¬ stituted of persons other than members of the Code Authority as it shall deem necessary to effect¬ uate the purposes of this Code, and may delegate to any such Committee generally or in particular instances any power and authority within the scope of the powers granted to the Code Authority under this Code provided that the Code Authority shall not be relieved of its responsibility and duties here¬ under. The Code Authority may at any time remove from any Committee any member thereof. The Code Authority shall co-ordinate the duties of the Committees with a view to promoting joint and harmonious action upon matters of common interest. Any action taken by any of such com¬ mittees shall be reviewed by the Code Authority. 5. (a) The Code Authority shall be empowered to collect from the members of the industry all data and statistics required by the President, or reasonably pertinent to the effectuation of Title I of the National Industrial Recovery Act to compile the same and disseminate without indi¬ vidual identification among the members of the industry summaries thereof, all in such form and manner as the Code Authority or the Admin¬ istrator shall prescribe. No such statistics, data and information of any one member of the indus¬ try shall be revealed to any other member. The dissemination of summaries of such information shall not be deemed a disclosure thereof. In addition to information required to be submitted to the Code Authority, there shall be furnished to Government agencies such statistical informa¬ tion as the Administrator may deem necessary for the purposes recited in Section 3 (a) of the National Industrial Recovery Act. (b) The Code Authority shall have the right to make independent investigations of violations or alleged violations of the Code by any branch of the industry or by any person, firm or cor¬ poration engaged in any branch of the industry. 6. The Code Authority shall assist the Admin¬ istrator in administering the provisions of this Code, in making investigations as to the function¬ ing or observance of any of the provisions of this Code at its own instance or on the complaint of any person engaged in the industry, and shall re¬ port to the Administrator on any such matters. The Code Authority may initiate and consider such recommendations and regulations and interpreta¬ tions including those pertaining to trade practices, as may come before it. _ 7. The Code Authority, after notice and hearing, may prescribe additional rules governing the con¬ duct of Producers, Distributors and Exhibitors among themselves and with each other and with their employees, which rules shall be submitted to the Administrator and if approved by the Presi¬ dent after such notice and hearing as he shall deem proper, shall constitute rules of fair practice for the industry, and any violation thereof shall constitute a violation of this Code. 8. The Code Authority shall, to such extent and in such manner as may seem most useful, utilize the facilities of national, regional and local trade associations, groups, institutes, boards and organ¬ izations in the industry. 9. No member of the Code Authority shall sit on any matter involving his company’s or his own interest directly and not as a class. In such case the Code Authority, including such ineligible mem¬ ber shall designate an alternate of the same general