UIP blasts EC 'Objections'
Denies partners practice unfair competition
The perennial problem stems from the Commission's view that the cost-sharing structure of UIP dampens competition between its three partners -- Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures and MGM.
At present the Commission is merely saying that UIP has the "potential for restrictive effect," and it has not yet made any hard accusations of any anticompetitive practices.
UIP denied that its structure is potentially damaging to industry competition and points out that many companies are "routinely" exempt from the EU's strict competition rules. The distrib said that such European bodies as the U.K.'s Mergers and Monopolies Commission had investigated and exonerated it in the past.
UIP applied for its first exemption in 1982. It was not granted until 1989. The company then applied for a renewal in 1993, to which the EU is finally responding.
