Section 57-5-11 - Producer- or distributor-controlled theaters; rights in choosing pictures; selling or leasing to competitors; penalty for violation.
57-5-11. [Producer- or distributor-controlled theaters; rights in choosing pictures; selling or leasing to competitors; penalty for violation.]
Producers and/or distributors or affiliated companies, owning and/or operating either directly or indirectly, any picture show or shows, theater or theaters, and exhibiting their own product therein, in one or more competitive situations, shall not participate in the alternative drawing or selection of pictures as provided in Section five [57-5-5 NMSA 1978] of this act, or in any way acquire pictures until their competitor or competitors have each acquired a number of pictures equal to the total products of each producer and/or distributor, affiliated company or other person, and it shall be unlawful for any producer and/or exhibitor to either refuse, sell or license their product or any part thereof upon reasonable terms to such competitive exhibitor so as to place them on an equal basis with such exhibitor, producer and/or distributor or affiliated company. Any person, firm or corporation, either seller or sellee, lessor or lessee, violating any of the provisions of this act [57-5-1 to 57-5-22 NMSA 1978] shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).