West Virginia Code 47-11D-4 – Bidding procedures
If bids are solicited from exhibitors for the licensing of a motion picture within the state, then:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 47-11D-4
- Bid: means a written or oral offer or proposal by an exhibitor to a distributor, in response to an invitation to bid or otherwise, stating the terms under which the exhibitor will agree to exhibit a motion picture. See West Virginia Code 47-11D-2
- Distributor: means any person engaged in the business of distributing or supplying motion pictures to exhibitors by rental, sale or licensing. See West Virginia Code 47-11D-2
- Exhibitor: means any person engaged in the business of operating one or more theatres. See West Virginia Code 47-11D-2
- in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Invitation to bid: means a written or oral solicitation or invitation by a distributor to one or more exhibitors to bid or negotiate for the right to exhibit a motion picture. See West Virginia Code 47-11D-2
- Run: means the continuous exhibition of a motion picture in a defined geographic area for a specified period of time. See West Virginia Code 47-11D-2
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1) The invitation to bid shall specify (i) the number and length of runs for which the bid is being solicited, whether it is a first, second or subsequent run, and the geographic area for each run; (ii) the earliest availability date of the motion picture; (iii) the names of all exhibitors who are being solicited; (iv) the date and hour the invitation to bid expires; and (v) the location, including the address, where the bids will be opened, which shall be within the state, or at the local exchange serving the geographic area for which the bids have been requested.
(2) All bids shall be submitted in writing and shall be opened at the same time and in the presence of those exhibitors, or their agents, who submitted bids and are present at such time.
(3) After being opened, bids shall be subject to examination by any exhibitors, or their agents, who submitted bids. Within seven business days after a bid is accepted, the distributor shall notify in writing each exhibitor who submitted a bid of the terms of the accepted bid and the name of the winning bidder. Bids shall be kept on file at the local exchange for a period of sixty days after acceptance, and may be examined by any competitive exhibitor during that period during the regular business hours of the local exchange.
(4) Once bids are solicited for a particular run, the distributor may subsequently license the picture only by bidding for that run and shall solicit rebids if he does not accept any of the submitted bids.