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 2
Leaf #:
000524
Language:
English
Collection:
Early Cinema and Government & Law
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:
June 13, 2024
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1142 Emanuel Mandelbaum, Direct Examination. pany acquired another rental exchange shortly thereafter in Cleveland? A. They acquired an exchange immediately, the same week after they had broken off negotiations with us. Q. Did you continue to do business from this time — that is, September, 1910, for several months under the license agreement? A. We continued to do business until March 6th, 1911, under the license agreement. Q. I show you a letter dated February 17th, 1911, on the letterhead of the Motion Picture Patents Company, and ask if that is a letter received by you at the time stated? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was that a notice of cancellation of your license? A. Yes, sir. Mr. Grosvenor: I offer it in evidence. The paper identified by the witness is marked Petitioner's Exhibit No. 208, and is as follows: Petitioner's Exhibit No. 208. MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY 80 Fifth Avenue, New York February 17, 1911. The Lake Shore Film & Supply Co., 314 Superior Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. Gentlemen : — Pursuant to the right reserved by this Company under the first clause of Section Nineteen of the Conditions of License forming part of the Exchange License Agreement existing between you and this Company and bearing date the fourteenth day of January, Nineteen Hundred and Nine, we hereby notify you of our intention to terminate said License, and that same will terminate at Eight o'clock A. M. on Tuesday the seventh day of March, Nineteen Hundred and Eleven, unless sooner terminated by this Company for any breach of the Conditions of License. Yours truly, MOTION PICTURE PATENTS CO., By W. P. WP/LMM