United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., 334 US 131 (1948) (also known as the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948) was a landmark United States Supreme Court anti-trust case that decided the fate of movie studios owning their own theatres and holding exclusitivity rights on which theatres would show their films. It would also change the way Hollywood movies were produced, distributed, and exhibited. The Court held in this case that the existing distribution scheme was in violation of the antitrust laws of the United States, which prohibit certain exclusive dealing arrangements. Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... Antitrust is also the name for a movie, see Antitrust (movie) Antitrust or competition laws legislate against trade practices that undermine competitiveness or are considered to be unfair. ...

Background

The legal issues had its genesis with the silent era, when the Federal Trade Commission began investigating film companies for potential violations under the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Categories: United States federal agencies | Stub ... The Sherman Antitrust Act was the first government action to limit trusts (A combination of firms or corporations who agree not to lower prices below a certain rate for the purpose of reducing competition and controlling prices throughout a business or an industry). ... 1890 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Ultimately, the main issue of monopolization would be the reason behind all the major movie studios being sued in 1938 by the U.S. Department of Justice. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court ten years later. The verdict went against the studios, forcing all of them to divest of their movie theater chains. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. ...

The court orders forcing the separation of motion picture production and exhibition companies are commonly referred to as the Paramount Decrees. While Paramount was forced to sell its own theater chain (which merged with the American Broadcasting Company, former United Paramount Theaters boss Leonard Goldenson leading ABC for decades), it is today controlled by another theater chain, National Amusements (through its control of Viacom, which was created by, divested as a result of another antitrust action by, and now owns, CBS as well). However, it seems unlikely that a vertically integrated motion picture business will ever be revived. 2002 identity of the ABC Circle logo, designed by Paul Rand in 1962. ... National Amusements is a chain of over 1300 movie theatres mainly in the New England area of the United States, but it also owns a controlling interest in the media conglomerate Viacom. ... Viacom (short for Video & Audio Communications) [pronunciation: pre-Redstone/pre-1987: vee-a-com; post-Redstone acquisition: vi-a-com] (NYSE: VIA) is an international media conglomerate. ... CBSs first color logo, which debuted in the fall of 1965. ...

The consequences

Consequences of the decision include:

• more independent producers and studios to produce their film product free of major studio interference;
• the end of the old Hollywood studio system and, effectively, Golden Age of Hollywood;
• the loss of the studio's rights to their own classic film libraries, especially in the wake of the rise of television.

Origins of motion picture arts and sciences Any overview of the history of cinema would be remiss to fail to at least mention a long history of literature, storytelling, narrative drama, art, mythology, puppetry, shadow play, cave paintings and perhaps even dreams. ...

Fate of film libraries

The studios that were affected the most by the legal decision were Warner Bros., United Artists, and Paramount Pictures. The WB Shield, used from 2001 to late 2003. ... The United Artists Corporation (aka United Artists Pictures and United Artists Films) was formed on February 5, 1919 by four Hollywood greats: Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used from 1988 to 1989. ...

• WB sold the rights to its classic library to Associated Artists Productions, which would later become part of UA; these rights returned to Time-Warner (via Turner Entertainment) after a series of acquisitions.
• UA sold a majority of its sound library to an entity that would later become the rechristened Republic Pictures (although other companies and estates of UA stars/producers also hold rights to other components of the UA catalog).
• EMKA, Ltd. (the outlet of MCA) acquired most of Paramount's sound library up to 1949.

Universal, 20th Century Fox, MGM, and Columbia Pictures were able to keep the rights to their libraries, although, decades later, Ted Turner would purchase the pre-1986 MGM library that Time-Warner would later acquire. The United Artists Corporation (aka United Artists Pictures and United Artists Films) was formed on February 5, 1919 by four Hollywood greats: Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith. ... Time Warner Inc. ... Turner Entertainment Company was established August 4, 1986 to oversee Turner Broadcastings film library after its acquisition of MGM/UA. In addition to the studio, Turner got its library, which included all of MGMs films, Warner Bros. ... Republic Pictures Corporation is considered by some to be one of the first major independent movie studios, best known for creating B-movie product featuring A-movie stars. ... EMKA, Ltd. ... The Music Corporation of America, commonly known as MCA, is a United States based corporation in the music business. ... Universal Studios logo Universal Studios is a famous Hollywood movie studio located at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California, which is in the San Fernando Valley. ... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation is one of the Big Ten movie studios, located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, California, USA, just west of Beverly Hills. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ... Columbia Pictures is a film production company, and part of Sony Pictures Entertainment. ... Robert Edward Ted Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American media mogul and philanthropist. ...