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 #:
000568
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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516 William Pelzkr, Direct Examination. and I was elected a director to fill the vacancy created by Mr. J. J. Kennedy, retiring from the Board, and Mr. Paul G. Melies was elected secretary; and Mr. J. J. Kennedy ceased to be the president, and Mr. Berst became president, and he has since retired, and Mr. Frank L. Dyer, succeeded him as president, but I succeeded Mr. Samuel Long as treasurer. Q. With these corrections that is a correct list of the directors to date? A. Yes, sir. Mr. Grosvenor: I offer in evidence the paper entitled "Officers and Directors of the General Film Company on January 1, 1912," as Petitioner's Exhibit No. 129. Petitioner's Exhibit No. 129. LIST OF OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS GENERAL FILM COMPANY, JANUARY 1, 1912. OFFICERS. President, J. J. Kennedy, Vice President, George Kleine, Treasurer, Samuel Long, Secretary, William Pelzer. DIRECTORS. Frank L. Dyer, J. A. Berst, Siegmund Lubin, Gaston Melies, Albert E. Smith, George K. Spoor, W. N. Selig, George Kleine, Samuel Long, J. J. Kennedy.