CCI Imposes Sanctions on UFO Moviez, Qube Cinema for Antitrust Practices
In this matter, the Commission determined that UFO Moviez and Qube were significant players in the relevant market for the supply of Digital Cinema Initiatives-Compliant Digital Cinema Equipment (DCI-Compliant DCE) on lease/rent to Cinema Theatre Owners (CTOs) in India. The Commission found that UFO Moviez and Qube, through imposition of restrictions on supply of content in lease agreements entered into with CTOs, created barriers for players engaged in the provision of Post-Production Processing (PPP) services as well as blocked a significant portion of CTOs having DCI-Compliant DCEs from being served by any other player. The Commission held UFO Moviez (along with its subsidiary Scrabble Digital) and Qube in contravention of provisions of Section 3(4) of the Act.
The Commission, under the provisions of Section 27 of the Act, directed UFO Moviez and Qube to not re-enter lease agreements with the CTOs imposing restrictions on supply of content from other parties. The Commission further held that the existing lease agreements with CTOs shall stand modified such that they do not impose restrictions on supply of content from parties other than UFO Moviez (and its affiliates) and Qube. The Commission, after considering nature and gravity of the contravention along with assessment of mitigating and aggravating factors, also imposed monetary penalty on UFO Moviez (along with its subsidiary Scrabble Digital) and Qube, amounting to Rs 104.03 Lakh and Rs 165.8 Lakh, respectively.
A copy of public version of the order passed in Case No.11 of 2020 is available on the CCI website at www.cci.gov.in.
News source: PIB