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 #:
000137
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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Bulletins to Exhibitors. 115 Petitioner's Exhibit No. 49. 1 Exhibitors' Bulletin — No. 7. MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY 80 Fifth Avenue New York City March 16, 1910. Exhibitors are hereby notified that Motion Pictures of the Military Tournament, the 101 Ranch and the Nelson 2 Wolgast Fight are not licensed for use on Projecting Machines licensed by this Company. Licensed exhibitors are permitted to use only film that is licensed by this Company. MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY. Petitioner's Exhibit No. 50. Exhibitors' Bulletin— No. 8. MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY 80 Fifth Avenue New York City May 10, 1910. Exhibitors are notified that the only licensed motion pictures of James J. Jeffries and Jack Johnson are the following : — The Jeffries-Sharkey Fight made at Coney Island by the Biograph Company; The Burns-Johnson Fight made in Australia by Gaumont; The Johnson-Ketchel Fight made in Colma, Cal. by the Kalem Company. No other motion pictures of either of the above men are licensed.