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 #:
000136
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:
May 23, 2024
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114 Bulletins to Exhibitors. 1 Petitioner's Exhibit No. 48. Exhibitors' Bulletin— No. 6. MOTION PICTUKE PATENTS COMPANY 80 Fifth Avenue New York City December 6, 1909. MODIFICATION OF RULE PROHIBITING DOUBLE 2 SERVICE. The rule prohibiting the simultaneous service to an exhibitor by two or more exchanges is modified as follows: Any exchange may rent a special or topical picture to a licensed exhibitor while the exhibitor is receiving regular servce from another licensed exchange. This modification applies only to special or topical pictures that are so advertised by the manufacturer, and not to regular releases. Exchanges are not permitted to supply a special or 3 topical picture for exhibition in a theatre in which unlicensed pictures are regularly exhibited. TALKING PICTURES. Your attention is directed to the fact that motion pictures supplied by the Cameraphone Company of New York are not licensed by this Company, and licensed exhibitors are not permitted to exhibit these pictures on machines licensed by this Company. 4 RELEASE DAY RULE. The release day rule is as follows: No licensed film shall be shown, handled or forwarded by a licensed exchange until 8 :00 A. M. of the day upon which the film is released by the Manufacturer. Under this rule, licensed film must not be taken from premises of the exchange, under any circumstances, until 8:00 A. M. on release day. MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY.