01/06/2005

The Spanish Court for the Defence of Competition received a claim against the American production companies Columbia, Disney, Fox, Warner and UIP. According to the Service for the Defence of Competition, a branch of the Ministry for the Economy, the 5 companies may well be acting as a cartel in Spain, which is forbidden under Competition Law.

The claim, which has just reached the Court, was filed in 2003 by the Federation of Spanish Film Entities. Over the last two years, the Service for the Defence of Competition noted several situations which back up the claim, but the 5 companies in question state that no material evidence has been presented against them.
The Court now has one year to decide whether or not to apply sanctions against the American producers, who have tried several times – but without success – to halt the process before it reached court. The Union of Spanish Exhibitors has even mentioned the possibility of an appeal to the American Justice Department, but no decision has been taken yet.