New Delhi [India], April 16 (ANI): The Competition Commission of India has initiated
CCI
) issued an instruction on Wednesday pursuant to the clauses of Section 27 of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act) mandating
monetary
and non-
monetary
sanctions
on
UFO Moviez
India Pvt. (
UFO Moviez
), Scrabble Digital Ltd., and
Qube Cinema Technologies
A statement revealed that Pvt. Ltd. (Qube) violated the provisions under Section 3(4) of the Act, leading to a tie-in arrangement, an exclusive supply agreement, and a refusal to engage in dealings.
Regarding this issue, the Commission concluded that
UFO Moviez
Qube and Vistas were key participants in the Indian market for leasing or renting DCI-compliant digital cinema equipment to theater owners.
The Commission found that
UFO Moviez
Moreover, Qube imposed limitations on the distribution of content via contracts with Content Transmission Operators (CTOs), which erected obstacles for entities offering Post-Production Processing (PPP) services. Additionally, this action prevented a substantial number of CTOs equipped with Digital Cinema Servers compliant with the DCI specification from accessing services provided by alternative providers.
The Commission held
UFO Moviez
(together with its subsidiary Scrabble Digital Ltd.) and Qube violated the provisions outlined in Section 3(4) of the Act.
Under the guidelines set forth in Section 27 of the Act, the Commission instructed
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
(as well as its subsidiaries) and Qube mentioned the statement.
After taking into account the severity and nature of the violation as well as evaluating both mitigating and aggravating circumstances, the Commission additionally imposed
monetary
penalty on
UFO Moviez
(including its subsidiary Scrabble Digital Ltd.) and Qube, totaling Rs. 104.03 Lakh and Rs. 165.8 Lakh, respectively. (ANI)
Provided by GAPTEKZONE. (
).
