GG: Karajan's Bata film contract?

["Junichi Miyazawa" <walkingtune@bigfoot.com>]

Sorry for bothering you. A question for translation.

In the GG letter to Paul Myers dated (December 29, 1968),
GG mentions a possibility to make a film with Karajan.
GG wants to do that in Toronto when the Maestro
comes to North America.  In the letter:

  . . . he [Karajan] is flying up in February [1969] to have 
  a look at local facilities--but if he could be so persuaded, 
  and it was *his* idea, I, needless to say, as the least 
  confident Trans-Atrantic traveller in history, would be 
  delighted.  His reasons for the switch are rather 
  complicated though they have principally to do, as I 
  understand it, with the termination of his Bata film contract 
                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  and the development of a more flexible attitude in regard 
  to the facilities which might be more available to him in 
  North America during the fairly frequent off-weeks of 
  his Met. . . . (GGL, p.111)


Does anyone know or can anyone guess what "Bata" is like?
Is it a name of a film company? 
If not, what is it?

As I checked the photocopy of the typescript, 
it *is* spelled as "his Bata film contract".

Help me.  Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Junichi

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  Junichi Miyazawa, Tokyo 
  walkingtune@bigfoot.com / junichi@poetic.com
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  http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/3739