Professor Mark Lemley weighs in on the DOJ’s probe into how big theater chains get first run movies in this Los Angeles Times article. 

At a time when the box office is booming, the business practices of the nation’s largest theater chains are coming under growing scrutiny by the federal government.

The Department of Justice recently ordered Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and Cinemark Holdings Inc. to supply documents as part of a widening investigation into whether the largest theater chains violated federal antitrust laws, three people familiar with the investigation said.

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“This is the sort of thing that antitrust is particularly worried about,” said Mark Lemley, a professor at Stanford Law School and an expert on antitrust law. “Do we have a few dominant players entering into deals that make it harder for independent companies to establish themselves and gain ground?”