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 #:
000484
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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462 Louis Rosenbluh, Direct Examination the same character, dated December 29th, 1909, also one dated January 27th, 1910. The papers are marked, respectively, "Petitioner's Exhibit 117, and Petitioner's Exhibit No. 118," and are as follows: Petitioners Exhibit No. 117. Form 52-5M ll-'09 MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY 80 Fifth Avenue New York City. December 29, 1909. Greater N. Y. Film Rental Co., 116 East 14th Street, New York City. Gentlemen : We have received an application for a license for Bijou Theatre, 11918 Wall St., Huntington, L. I. Martin Mayer Co. Our records show that the population of this town is about 3028, and that there is at present one Licensed Exhibitor in said town who is being served by you. Please give us your opinion of the advisability of licensing the above Exhibitor. Yours very truly, MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY, By G E J GEJ/MQ X-32