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 #:
000675
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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GENERAL INDEX. lxxxv Motion Picture Patents Co., Con tinned: vol. page Agreement, Patents Co. and General Film Co., dated April 21, 1910, printed as Exhibit 7 to Petition; Petitioner's Exhibit 130 I 547 Affidavit of James J. Lodge in ease of Greater New York Film Rental Co. v. Motion Picture Patents Co., verified Dec. 15, 1911; Petitioner's Exhibit 217 II 1183 Pink Cards Issued by Patents Co., being notice to suspend service of a Theatre, June 9, 1911; Petitioner's Exhibits 124, 125 and 126 I 472 Circulars to Film Rental Exchanges ; Petitioner's Exhibits 7 to 33 29 82 Circular to Licensed Exchanges, Feb. 24, 1909, being List of Licensed Manufacturers, Importers and Exchanges; Petitioner's Exhibit 13.. Circular to Licensed Exchanges, Feb. 27, 1909, being List of Licensed Manufacturers of Moving Picture Machines ; Petitioner's Exhibit 14 . I 59 Circulars and Bulletins to Licensed Exhibitors; Petitioner's Exhibits 34 to 53 I 87 11" Circular Letter, Patents Co. to Exhibitors, re Standard Film Exchange, dated Sept. 22, 1910; Petitioner's Exhibit 180 II 1061 Circular by Patents Co. to Licensed Exchanges, re List of Licensed Exhibitors, Feb. 5, 1909; Petitioner's Exhibit 9 II 930