The process of contract negotiations and enforcement was an intricate one. UA personnel had to negotiate with both their producers and foreign customers and also had to depend on their specialized knowledge of foreign markets and conditions, the merits of the various foreign distributors, and the relative prospects of each individual film. Among the home office personnel who were regularly involved with foreign sales were T.P. Mulrooney, H.W. Schroeder, D.R. Onstein, and W. Gould.
The majority of the material dates from 1940-1952, but earlier papers are included mainly in reference to previous contracts with local distributors. The original order has been retained, and the series is arranged in four sub-sections: by Country, by Company, by Production Title and by Country/Company. Similar materials are contained in each section. Only the categorization differs with the last sub-section serving as a catchall.
By Country: Material in this section is organized alphabetically by country of distribution and contains contracts, contract abstracts, legal papers, accounting reports, and general correspondence to and from film producers and film distributors. The files trace the course of distribution contracts from initial contact through subsequent contract enforcement.
Not all the material is concerned with distribution. For example, Bulgaria, 1931-1941 (Box 1) contains affidavits concerning UA's ownership of films in that country; French North Africa, 1945 (Box 2) holds material concerning salary adjustments; and Italy, 1950-1951 (Box 23) contains material relating to the formation of a new UA foreign subsidiary.
By Company: Files are arranged alphabetically by company name and focus on UA's relationship with producers.
By Production Title: General arrangement is alphabetical by film title with miscellaneous folders regarding companies and producers' representatives filed at the end of the section.
By Country/Company: Materials consist of correspondence and contracts, primarily with producers although some distributors are also included.
