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 #:
00081
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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Harry N. Marvin, Direct Examination. 59 chines licensed at that time (handing paper to witness)? A. This is a list of the licensees under projecting machine patents licensed for the purpose of manufacturing machines, but not all of the people on this list were engaged in the manufacture of machines at that time, and some of them had not at any time been engaged in the manufacture of machines. Q. That is a list of all whom yon licensed to manufacture projecting machines? A. Yes. Mr. Grosvenor : I offer that list in evidence. The list dated February 27, 1909, is marked Petitioner's Exhibit No. 14, and is as follows: Petitioner's Exhibit No. 14. LICENSED MANUFACTURERS OF MOVING PICTURE MACHINES. American Moving Picture Machine Co., Armat Moving Picture Machine Co., Edengraph Manufacturing Co., Edison Manufacturing Company, Enterprise Optical Company, Lubin Manufacturing Co., Pathe Freres, Nicholas Power Company, Eberhard Schneider, Selig Polyscope Company, George K. Spoor Company, Vitagraph Company of America, Gaumont Company. Mr. Grosvenor : I offer in evidence this paper to be marked Petitioner's Exhibit No. 15, reading as follows :