Old Antitrust Consent Decrees in the Movie Business Terminated by Court, Will Others Follow?
Highlights
Tight restrictions on a range of business practices of Hollywood studios are now relaxed
With this decision, the Antitrust Division has shown responsiveness to changed market conditions and legal standards
Legacy consent decrees in other industries may be able to be similarly terminated
In confirmation of William Faulkner’s observation that “The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York agreed on Aug. 7 to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division’s request to terminate antitrust consent decrees that had dogged the motion picture industry for 70 years. It let stand a two-year sunset provision regarding selling films as a package, known as “block booking,” and circuit dealing.
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