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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 000461 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 #:
000461
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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Louis Rosenbluh, Direct Examination. 439 Petitioner's Exhibit No. 100. 1 Bulletin No. 2. February 24, 1908. FILM SERVICE ASSOCIATION The attention of members is called to the following: 1. The words "A Member of The Film Service Association' ' are sufficient at the present time for an indication, to place upon the stationery and printed matter of members, and it has been suggested that this could be done, if stationery is already printed, by having a rubber stamp made and stamping the paper with it. 2. Each member will receive at his main office two hundred (200) copies, and at his branch office one hundred (100) copies, of a statement issued by the Edison Manufacturing Company to exhibitors. This statement should be at once mailed to all exhibitors on the mailing list of members and particularly to all exhibitors with whom a « member is dealing. It is desirable that this statement should have the broadest possible circulation among exhibitors. 3. It is advisable that members at once, without waiting for March 1st, limit their purchase of film to the manufacturers, licensed under the Edison Patent. 4. The minimum rental schedule adopted by the Edison Company and the licensed manufacturers, fixing a minimum price for the sale of licensed film, may be printed and 4 used by members in dealings with their customers according to the needs of each member. It has been found to be impracticable for the Association to print and distribute these in quantities, as each member knows just in what form and in what manner to put these out, in order to get the best results for its own business. 5. Members who have not already sent in information blanks properly filled should attend to completing these