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 #:
000628
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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002 Gov't Ex. 134, Agt. Edison & Eastman Kodak Cos. 4 Company licensees'' in quantities required by the latter for actual use in the manufacture, in the "territory aforesaid/' of motion pictures (provided such quantity for any such licensee does not exceed twenty-five per cent (25%) more than such licensee had received from the Eastman Company during a simliar period immediately preceding said one hundred and twenty (120) days, then the Patents Company may designate some other manufacturer or manufacturers in place of or in addition to the Eastman Company to supply "N. I. Licensed Film" to the "Patents Company licensees," and the Eastman Company shall then be at liberty to manufacture non-inflammable sensitized motion picture film and sell the same in the "territory aforesaid" to any person, firm or corporation other than "Patents Company licensees1' wishing to purchase the same, but it shall not be obligated to collect for and pay to the Patents Company the royalty hereinbefore provided for on such film, except on such film as it may sell to the "Patents Company licensees," and insofar as such film may be sold to others than such licensees, such film shall not be considered as licensed by the Patents Company for use in the manufacture of motion pictures. 26. It is further mutually covenanted and agreed by and between the Patents Company and the Eastman Company that the Eastman Company shall not be responsible for damages for any failure to fill all orders for "N. I. Licensed Film" to the "Patents Company licensees" other than the proportion each "Patents Company licensee" is entitled to as defined in Paragraph 13, or for any failure to fill such orders by circumstances or happenings beyond its control. 27. It is further mutually covenanted and agreed by and between the Patents Company and the Eastman Company that this agreement shall take effect June 20, 1909, and unless sooner terminated as hereinafter provided, shall continue until July 1, 1912. 28. It is further mutually covenanted and agreed by and between the Patents Company and the Eastman Company that in case the Patents Company should become bankrupt, cease doing business or should be dissolved, voluntarily or