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 #:
000473
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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Louis Rosenbluh, Direct Examination. 451 The paper is marked "Petitioner's Exhibit No. 1 105, and is as follows: Petitioner' s Exhibit No. 105. Form 52-5M 7-09 MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY 80 Fifth Avenue, New York Sept. 13, 1909. 2 Greater New York Film Kental Co., 116 East 14th Street, New Y^ork City. Gentlemen : Y^ou are hereby notified that we have cancelled the license of the Cluse Brothers, Arlington Theatre, Brooklyn, N. Y., on account of the exhibition of unlicensed film and on account of sub-renting. Do not supply licensed service to the Cluse Brothers 3 without notice from us. Yours very truly, MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY HNM/JK By M. Mr. Grosvenor: I offer in evidence, letters regarding Pearl Theatre; Oriental Theatre, Philadelphia, Pa., Sept. 23, 1909; Princess Theatre, Marshall, Michigan, Sept. 30, 1909; Darley & Smith, King Fisher, Oklahoma, Sept. 30, 1907; People's Amusement Palace, Brooklyn, N. Y., Sept. 22, 1907, Novelty Theatre, El Reno, Oklahoma, Sept. 30, 1907; Lyric Theatre, Blair, Nebraska, Sept. 30, 1909 ; Nicolet Theatre, Passaic, N. J., Nov. 16, 1909. The letters are marked respectively Petitioner's Exhibits Nos. 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112 and 113, and are as follows: