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 000166 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 #:
000166
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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144 Ag't, Biograph Co. and Kleinb, Feb. 18, 1908. proposed parties, unless a majority of the parties hereto shall file written objections with the party of the first part after written notice of its intention first given. 9. The party of the first part agrees for itself that, in the event that it shall hereafter license any American manufacturer of moving or motion picture films under camera patents now owned or hereafter acquired by said party, it will impose upon such manufacturer terms not more favorable to such manufacturer as to the sale of films than are hereinbefore set forth. 10. All the parties hereto agree that any of the parties of the second, third and fourth parts may assign his, their or its interest in this agreement, in whole or in part, with the written consent of the party of the first part, and that upon such assignment this agreement shall become binding upon the assignee or assignees. All the parties hereto further agree that, in the event that the party of the first part shall become insolvent, or shall be adjudicated a bankrupt, this agreement shall thereby terminate and be at an end. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have caused these presents to be executed and attested in the following manner, to-wit, the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company has caused its common seal and the signatures of its President and Secretary to be hereto respectively affixed and subscribed, the copartnership of Williams, Brown & Earle by the hands of Henry S. Williams and N. Howland Brown, two of the members of said copartnership duly authorized thereto, the Kleine Optical Company has caused its common seal and the signature of its President to be hereto respectively affixed and subscribed, and Charles E. Dressier & Company has caused its common seal and the signature of its Treasurer to be hereto respectively affixed and subscribed;