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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)

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 #:
000373
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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William H. Swanson, Direct Examination. 351 1st, 1908, a discount of 6% off the above prices for cash re * mitted on delivery of goods. TERMS All shipments are made f. o. b. vendor's office at purchasers' risk. C. O. D. at the vendor's option. MINIMUM RENTAL SCHEDULE FOR LICENSED POSITIVE MOTION PICTURES Price for Service Weekly Contracts 1 2 3 1 5 6 7 When Changed Reels Reels Reels Reels Reels Reels Reels Once a week . . ..|16 |32 9 48 1 61 $ 80 $ 96 $112 2 times a week. , . . 20 10 60 80 100 120 110 3 times a week . . . 21 18 72 96 120 111 168 4 times a week . . . 28 56 81 112 110 168 196 5 times a week . , .. 32 61 96 128 160 192 221 6 times a week. . . 36 72 108 111 180 216 252 Every Day .... . . 10 80 120 160 200 210 2S0 Each reel must contain not more than eleven hundred (1100) feet. In all contracts for less than 7 days, the price is $6.00 per day per reel. Exhibitor to Pay Express Charges Both Ways. CONDITIONS OF SALE. Licensed motion pictures manufactured under re-issued Letters Patent No. 12,192, dated January 12, 1901, are sold by Edison Manufacturing Company, hereinafter referred to as the Vendor, subject to the following conditions : 1. From the date of this agreement, the purchaser shall buy exclusively licensed motion pictures obtained from the vendor, or from a duly licensed manufacturer of such motion pictures, under said reissued Letters Patent. 2. The purchaser shall not sell nor exhibit licensed motion pictures obtained from the vendor, but shall rent out 3