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 6
Leaf #:
00059
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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Evidence. 3091 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES For the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 1 United States of America, Petitioner, No. 889. V. Sept. Sess., 1912. Motion Picture Patents Co. and others, \ 2 Defendants. New York City, March 17, 1914. The hearings were resumed pursuant to adjournment at 10:30 o'clock A. M., March 17, 1914, at Room 159, Manhattan Hotel, New York City. Present on behalf of the Petitioner, Hon Edwin P. Grosvenor, Special Assistant to the Attorney General. Joseph R. Darling, Esq., Special Agent. Charles F. Kingsley, Esq., George R. Willis, Esq., and Fred R. Williams, Esq., appearing for Motion Picture Patents Company, Biograph Company, Jeremiah J. Kennedy, Harry N. Marvin, Armat Moving Picture Company, Melies Manufacturing Co. and Gaston Melies. J. H. Caldwtell, Esq., and II. K. Stockton, Esq., appearing for William Pelzer, General Film Company, Thomas A. Edison, Inc., Kalem Company, Inc., Pathe Freres, Frank L. Dyer, Samuel Long and J. A. Rerst. Henry Melville, Esq., attorney for George Kleine, Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, Selig Polyscope, George K. Spoor and W. N. Selig. James J. Allen, Esq., appearing for Vitagraph Company of America, and Albert E. Smith. Mr. Kingsley : I offer in evidence copies of the entries from the office dockets of Dyer & Dyer, Gifford