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 #:
00093
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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Fred C. Aiken, Cross Examination. 2543 Court doth hereby order, adjudge and decree, that the said defendant, his agents, attorneys, servants, and workmen be, and they and each of them are hereby enjoined from the further infringement of the said Reissued Letters Patent No. 12,192 and the rights of the complainant therein and thereunder, and particularly from making, using or selling without the authority of the complainant any moving picture films containing or embodying the improvements or inventions set forth in said Reissued Letters Patent, and covered by the claims thereof, or each or any of the said claims. And it appearing to the Court that the parties have agreed upon the damages and profits and that the defendant has paid the same to the complainant, and that the complainant has waived an accounting herein, this decree is made final, the defendant to pay the costs. Suits Will be Pressed. It is desired to call the attention of all moving picture buyers and exhibitors to this decree in order that every one shall be properly advised as to the probable outcome of the suits which have been or will be filed by the company against infringers, and of the intention of the company to press all suits to a conclusion as rapidly as possible. The undersigned manufacturers are the only ones making moving picture films under the Edison Patents, and the purchase or use of films made by any other concern will necessarily render the purchaser or user liable to prosecution for infringement. Edison Manufacturing Company, Orange, X. J. Essanay Company, Chicago, 111. Kalem Company, New York, N. Y. Siegmund Lubin, Philadelphia, Pa. George Melies, New York, N. Y. Pathe Freres, New York, N. Y. Selig Polyscope Company, Chicago, 111. Vitagraph Company of America, New York, N. Y. By Mr. Grosvenor: Q. After that bulletin was issued by the Association to the trade, is it not a fact that the Kleine Optical Company