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 #:
00088
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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2538 Petitioner's Exhibit No. 257. burg. By this means the Executive Committee expects to effect a great saving of time and give to members in the west an office near at hand with which they can take up directly all matters in which they are interested. Exhibitors Using Unlicensed Film. "All members of the Association will be furnished with information blanks upon which may be reported information regarding the exhibition of unlicensed film, and as soon as these blanks are received, members are requested to obtain this information as to cases in their localities. "The Edison Manufacturing Company propose to bring suits wherever they find violations of their patents. Advertising. "Members in advertising in the trade papers should always mention the fact in the advertisement that they are members of the Film Service Association. Short Lengths. "The Executive Committee has taken up with the manufacturers the question of short lengths. The Committee requests information as to what the experiences of members may be in this respect, and advises each member to get a measuring machine, which can be purchased for a small amount, and measure films, reporting where they measure less than the number of feet billed at the time they are delivered. The manufacturer is allowed a variation of 2 per cent. ; anything over that should be reported. "The manufacturers have been requested by the Executive Committee, in order to assist their customers, to place upon the label upon the box containing the film the name of the subject, the number of actual feet contained in the box, and the character of the film, whether comic, tragic, etc.'' Members of the Committee present were: President, J. B. Clark; Treasurers, P. L. Waters, F. C. Aiken, Win. H. Swanson, F. J. Howard. Secretary D. MacDonald was also present.