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EU's Antitrust Move Against U.S. Studios

By Amanda Bronstad
September 02, 2015

The European Commission's (EU) recent decision to file antitrust claims against six major U.S. film studios is an aggressive approach at dismantling how Hollywood does business. Even so, it comes as little surprise to antitrust experts given the regulatory agency's push to unify consumer access to digital products in the European Union.

The action ' referred to as a statement of objections ' formally opens a case against Sky UK Ltd., an entertainment company that serves the European Union, and six studios: The Walt Disney Co., Paramount Pictures Corp., NBCUniversal Inc., Sony Corp. of America, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.

The action follows the European Commission's other recent moves over access to digital content. In May 2015, the EU launched a new digital single market strategy aimed at breaking down barriers that have prevented cross-border sales over the Internet. On June 11, the agency announced a formal investigation into contracts that Amazon.com Inc. has with publishers of electronic books. On April 15, Google Inc. was hit with similar actions over allegedly anti-competitive practices involving search results on its site and its Android mobile operating system.

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