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 (1913)

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:
1913
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 2
Leaf #:
000618
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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1236 J. C. Graham, Direct Examination. Petitioner's Exhibit No. 232. POSTAL TELEGRAPH— COMMERCIAL CABLES TELEGRAM Delivery No. 376 (Part of telegram form omitted.) Branch Office, CENTURY BUILDING, St. Louis, Mo. ar287-ch. sm. 10— Chicago, July 20-10 Western Film Exchange, Century Big St. Louis, Mo. Please return immediately reels expressed you coming Friday and Saturday. Pathe Freres. 1107a Special Rush Service. By Mr. Grosvenor: Q. Did you or not come to New York about this time, or early in August, in an effort to revoke the cancellation, or to have revoked the cancellation of your license? A. Yes, I can't state the exact date that I came, but my recollection is it was within ten days. Q. Whom did you see? A. I saw Mr. Kennedy. Q. Mr. J. J. Kennedy, President of the General Film Company at that time? A. Yes, sir. Q. Please state what conversation you had with Mr. Kennedy, to the best of your recollection? Mr. Kingsley : Objected to as incompetent, immaterial and irrelevant, and not binding on defendants. A. I called upon Mr. Kennedy, at his downtown office,