In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants (1914)

Record Details:

Title:
In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants
Date:
1914
Publisher:
New York, Appeal Printing Co.
Volume:
In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants : record volume 5
Leaf #:
00072
Language:
English
Collection:
Early Cinema and Government & Law
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
The Museum of Modern Art Library, New York
Sponsor:
Media History Digital Library
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
These seven volumes contain the testimonies and supporting documents from the U.S. District Court's antitrust lawsuit against the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC). Formed in 1908, the MPPC (sometimes referred to asœ"the Edison Trust" or just "the Trust") sought to control the American film industry through pooling patents and demanding that producers and exhibitors acquire licenses to those patents. Independent producers and exhibitors, who refused to license the patents, argued that the MPPC was an unlawful monopoly. In 1912 and 1913, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania heard testimonies from both MPPC members, such as Siegmund Lubin, and "Independents" who later became Hollywood moguls, such as William Fox. Ultimately, in 1915, the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which found the MPPC in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and spelled the end for the already weakening MPPC. -- Eric Hoyt, 2012
Date Added:
September 21, 2023
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2522 Petitioner's Exhibit Xo. 255. exhibitors as may use Edison projecting machines, will be full}' protected by my company which will undertake the defence of all suits that may be brought against them for the use of such machines and will pay all damages that may be recovered, provided, of course, the Edison company is given control of such suits. Regards Latham Patent a Joke. "I do not look upon the Latham patent as a serious thing, and in fact it is nothing but a joke in the business. Ever since its issue in 1902, my company has been importuned to purchase it, but I have always regarded it as so unimportant as not to warrant serious consideration. "Two things, however, may be taken seriously by the public: First: The Edison company proposes to the utmost of its ability to assert its right to the Edison patents and to prosecute all infringers, wherever they may be located. "Second : The Edison company stands behind all its licensees and will see that they are fully protected in any patent suits which may be brought against them for using licensed motion pictures made by any one of its regular licensees." Mr. Dyer Discusses Situation. In an interview with a SHOW WORLD representative, Mr. Dyer said : "I feel sure that the situation will turn out satisfactorily to the Edison patents, and that they will be recognized by every one very soon. The patents have been recognized by the eight largest manufacturers in this country, who have agreed to pay royalties to the Edison Manufacturing company, under them, and those manufacturers comprise substantially the entire output. We have, therefore, only to deal with imported films. "The important Edison patent covers the film itself, so that anyone either making films in this country or importing those til ms from abroad, or selling them, or using them in this country, infringes that patent. "Suits have been brought against Mr. George Kleine and the Kleine Optical company, and the subpoena in the suit