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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)

Page scan 00083 from 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 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 #:
00083
Language:
English
Collection:
Government & Law and Early Cinema
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 12, 2024
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Bulletins to Rental Exchanges. 61 be subject to the following conditions, which should be * endorsed on the contracts: "On and after this date this contract is conditioned upon the exhibitor remaining a licensee of the Motion Picture Patents Company, and we reserve the right to cancel this contract upon receiving notice from the Motion Picture Patents Company that the license covering the house of the exhibitor has been revoked." ROYALTIES. 2 The Patents Company has fixed March 8th to April 1st, as the next royalty period, during which time the royalties for licensed theatres will be at the rate of $2.00 per week, making a total of $6.00, to cover the period from March 8th to April 1st, 1909. By Mr. Grosvenor: Q. Just read this one please (handing Exhibit No. 15 $ to witness)? A. (Witness reads.) Another bulletin is marked Petitioner's Exhibit No. 16, and is as follows: Petitioner's Exhibit No. 16. Exchange Bulletin — No. 2. MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY 4 80 Fifth Avenue New York City March 3, 1909. LICENSED EXHIBITORS. We are sending you enclosed a list of your licensed customers and also a list of licensed customers in your vicinity not yet credited to any particular Exchange.