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 #:
000308
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:
September 21, 2023
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3314 Evidence. 1 IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES For the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. United States of America, Petitioner, No. 889. Sept. Sess., 1912. 2 Motion Picture Patents Co. and others, Defendants. New York City, March 30, 1914. The hearings were resumed, pursuant to adjournment, at Room No. 159, Manhattan Hotel, New York City, on Monday, March 30th, 1914, at 2 o'clock P. M. 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., Fred R. Williams, Esq., and Melville Church, 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. II. Caldwell, Esq., and H. 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. Berst. Henry Melville, Esq., attorney for George Klelne, Essanay Film Manufacturing Conipary, Selig Polyscope, George K. Spoor and W. N. Selig. James J. Allen, Esq., appearing for Vitagrapli Company of America, and Albert E. Smith.