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 000407 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 2
Leaf #:
000407
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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Charles W. Boyer, Cross Examination. 1025 violate any rules of the Patents Company, which if they 1 have been violated, was entirely unintentional. Yours very truly, Chas. W. Boyer. File, J. B. Rubber stamp Received 1913 Jan 15 AM 11 35 Ans 1/22/13 J/A. C. L. By Mr. Kingsley: Q. I show you a letter dated January 20th, 1913, and ask you if that is your letter and your signature (handing paper to witness) ? A. (witness examining paper) : Yes, sir. Mr. Kingsley : I offer it in evidence. The paper offered is marked Defendants' Exhibit No. 19, and is as follows: Defendants' Exhibit No. 19. EASTERN THEATRE MANAGERS ASSOCIATION Secretary's Office Chas. W. Boyer, Secretary Academy of Music — Hagerstown, Md. (Officers and Directors listed.) 1/20/13 Motion Picture Patents Company, 80 Fifth Ave., New York City. Gentlemen : Replying to your letter of the 14th, addresed to the Rosedale Theatre, Chambersburg, which has just reached me owing to my absence from the City, beg to advise you that on Sat. Jan. 11th at Chambersburg we played an attraction on percentage known as the ROBB AND BOBERTSON'S JOLLIETS, and they furnished as part of their entertainment motion pictures of PILGRIMS PROGRESS. 2 3