P.M. BRIEFING : EEC Clears U.S. Film Joint Venture

The European Economic Community Commission said today it had cleared a film distribution venture by three U.S. companies after they agreed to amend their pact to comply with EEC antitrust rules.

The commission said that the agreement between Paramount Pictures Corp., MCA Inc. and MGM-UA Communications to create a joint venture, United International Pictures, to distribute their films in the EEC had contained exclusivity clauses that restricted competition. These clauses were changed so that the venture now only has the right of first refusal on the parent companies’ films. This means that if United International chooses not to distribute a film, the parent company could distribute it on its own or through a third party.

The companies also agreed to maintain “appropriate records” and to establish an arbitration procedure to solve problems such as film allocation and access to screen space, the commission said.