V.

The Motion Picture Patents Company

Almost since the beginning of cinema there had been litigation between the American companies over the basic patents for camera and projector mechanisms, and this was finally resolved in the formation in 1908 of a trust called the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC), which was intended to control totally the now immensely profitable film business. The models for this were the oil, steel, and railway trusts set up at the end of the 19th century in the United States. However, the members of the MPPC were unable to supply sufficient films to fulfil the demand, and new independent production and distribution companies were set up that had about half of the film business by 1912. At this point the American government took legal action against the MPPC, which had really only succeeded in its aims for two years.