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Thomas Alva Edison


He filed a patent for the kinetograph (which was used to take pictures), and the kinetoscope (which was used for viewing pictures) in 1891. The kinetoscope was the first viewing technology commercially used. They were placed in viewing parlors, called Nickelodeons, which charged customers twenty- five cents admission to peer into each machine. The first parlor was opened in Manhattan in April 1894. (Edison Motion).
             Although the kinetoscopes were instantly successful, problems occurred when rivals began pushing for the development of a screen projection camera and also when Edison's working relationship with Dickson worsened. Dickson left West Orange during the summer of 1895 and went on to develop the first screen projection camera (the Biograph). Edison's only resort was to enter into a business agreement with a new partner, Thomas Armat (who had designed a projector named the Vitascope). They entered into an agreement that had Edison marketing the Vitascope under his own name. (Edison Motion).
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             Unfortunately, the public had a strong reaction to it and it quickly became clear that the motion picture business was going to be an extremely profitable investment. A lot of inventors were involved with the development of the technology and there were many conflicting patent claims. By 1900 there were around five-hundred legal actions, two-hundred of them pending, on patent claims related to motion pictures. Even Armat (who grew angry when Edison claimed the Vitascope as his own) sued Edison in court. (Adventures).
             The result was the creation of a trust of sorts: the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC). From 1909 to 1915, the MPPC brought order to the industry with a licensing code and drew many of the embattled motion picture companies under a single umbrella. The organization increased profits for all, although it came under fire from independent companies for its monopolistic behavior. Edison received a large share of the profits, although he was eventually driven out of the market by falling prices and increased competition.


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