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 (1914)

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:
1914
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 5
Leaf #:
000473
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 21, 2023
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Defendants' Exhibit No. 138. 2923 ing, and if you care to do so, we will appreciate any addi * tional information you see fit to give us as to name of theatre, etc. Thanking you, we remain, Yours very truly, MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY. U. S. POSTAL CARD. (Reply Card.) MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY, 80 Fifth Avenue, New York City. Are there any places exhibiting Motion Pictures in your town? If so, how many? Yes or no State quantity. If there are no places in your town exhibiting Motion Pictures, please state No, and return this card without further entry. If there are, state number, and if convenient 3 for you to do so, please enter the names, etc., below. Name of Theatre or Name of Active or Inactive * Place of Exhibition. Exhibitor. The above is a list of the places now exhibiting, or that usually exhibit, Motion Pictures in this vicinity. Population Signed 4 Corrected to Name of City or Town. Date Name of State. * If motion pictures are being shown at present, indicate with the word active; if usually shown but the theatre or place of exhibition is now closed, temporarily for repairs or for the winter, indicate with the word inactive. Note. — We are stating the population of your town as