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 (1913)

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:
1913
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 1
Leaf #:
00038
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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2 16 Agreement — Patents Co. and Vitagraph Co. It is agreed that Petitioner's Exhibit No. 5, being the agreement dated December 18, 1908, between the Patents Company and the Vitagraph Company of America, will be copied into the record, counsel agreeing that these papers are introduced in evidence subject to correction. Petitioner's Exhibit No. 5. AGREEMENT BETWEEN MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY AND THE VITAGRAPH COMPANY OF AMERICA, OF DECEMBER 18, 1908. AGREEMENT made this 18th day of December, 1908, by and between the MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of New Jersey, and having an office at Jersey City, in said State (hereinafter referred to as the "PATENTS COMPANY"), party of the first part, and THE VITAGRAPH COMPANY OF AMERICA, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, and having an office at New York in said State (hereinafter referred to as the "VITAGRAPH COMPANY"), party of the second part. (a) WHEREAS, the Vitagraph Company represents that it is the owner of all the right, title and interest in and to United States Letters Patent : Patent No. 673,329, granted to The American Vitagraph Company as the assignee of Albert E. Smith, dated April 30, 1901, for KINETOSCOPE. Patent No. 744,251, granted to Albert E. Smith dated November 17, 1903, for KINETOSCOPE. Patent No. 770,937, granted The Vitagraph Company of America as the assignee of Albert E. Smith, dated September 27, 1904, for KINETOSCOPE. Patent No. 771,280, granted to Albert E. Smith, dated October 4, 1904, for WINDING REEL. Patent No. 785,205, granted The Vitagraph Company of America as the assignee of William Ellwood, dated March