Evening star., 1939-02-13
Film Licensiino
Pacts voided
By High Court
Texas Agreements
Held Violation of
Antitrust Law
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
The Supreme Court decided today
that a group of leading motion pic.
ture distributors and Texas ex-
hibitors had violated the antitrust
law through film licensing agree.
ments.
In a decision by Justice Stone, the
tribunal affirmed a decree by the
Northern Texas Federal District
Court enjoining further agreements.
1t was a 5-to-3 decision. Justice
| Roberts, McReynolds and Butler dis
sented and Justice Frankfurter did
not participate.
The Department Of Justice, which
instituted the proceedings, con-
tended eight leading distributors
violated the Sherman antitrust law
by agreeing with Interstate Circuit,
Inc, which operates theaters in
Texas, to place restrictions on the
use OF films licensed to competitors
Of Interstate.
Under the agreement, the Gov.
ernment said, films shown at FIRST.
run" theaters operated by Inter.
state Circuit could not be shown at
subsequent run" houses unless tbs
later charged minimum admis.
sion price of Is cents for lower.
floor seats at night. The first
run theaters charged 40 cents or
more.
Some of the competitors also were
required, the Government said, to
agree not to show the films as part
OF double features"
Motion-picture distributors in
volved were Columbia Fox, Metro,
Paramount, R-K-O, United Artists,
Universal and Vitagraph.
kidnapping Case Verdict.
The court delivered only one other
minor decision. Included in a num-
Der OF orders was a refusal to re-
view convictions of Nanny Strewl
ana SIX other men now serving long
prison terms in connection with the
1887 kidnapping of John j. O'Connell,
]r., of Albany, N. Y. The justices
said the application for review was
not made within the time provided
by law"
The tribunal adjourned for two
weeks after hearing attorneys for
Joseph G. Strecker of Hot Springs,
Ark, argue that membership in the
Communist party of the United
States was not adequate grounds
for deportation of an alien.
Cnnr1fIHiro -,
ly-disputed litigation were delivered
by Whitney North Seymour, New
York attorney, and c. Alpheus Stan
field, Hot Springs lawyer.
Solicitor General Robert H. Jack
son contended Friday for the Gov
ernment that an alien who Joined
the Communist party should be de-
ported because he bound himself to
a program calling for forcible over
throw of the Government.
Strecker came to the United States
from Austria and joined the Com
munist party in this country. He
said he later stopped paying dues.
Contract Held Invalid.
In the Texas movie case, Justice
| stone SAID.
"A contract between a copyright
owner and one who has no COPY
right, restraining the competitive
distribution of the copyrighted ar
ticles in the open market in order
to protect the latter from the COM
petition, can no more be valid than
a like agreement between two copy
right owners or patentees. ="
1--WE think the conclusion is un-
avoidable that the conspiracy and
each contract between Interstate
and the distributors by which those
consequences were effected are vio-
lations of the Sherman Act and
that the district court rightly en-
joined enforcement and renewal OF
these agreements, as well as of the
conspiracy among the distributors.
Justice Roberts, who wrote the
dissenting opinion, said:
The decision of the court neces-
sarily means that the owner of
product may not agree with an i'm
portant customer that the former
will not sell the product at cut
rate to the latter's competitors in
the same city in which he conducts
his business"