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)

Page scan 000219 from 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 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 5
Leaf #:
000219
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 12, 2024
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Frank M. Kenney, Direct Examination. 2669 Q. Yes. A. And I started across the street with licensed * service. Mr. Grosvenor: Then for five years you have been using the licensed service, is that what you mean? The Witness: Yes, sir — By Mr. Kingsley: Q. Have you? That is just the point. A. No — wait a 2 minute. I have been using licensed service two years and a half. Q. What did you use before that? A. When I first started, we did not know any difference between licensed service and any other kind of service. It was simply a service. Mr. Grosvenor: He means two years and a half he has used General Film Service. The Witness: No, one year and a half I used Gen 3 eral Film Company's. By Mr. Kingsley: Q. What did you use just before that? A. I used the licensed service, but the General Film Company had not come into existence. Q. I see. Now, Mr. Kenney, do you know what year you first went into business, in the motion picture exhibition line, I mean? A. AY ell, it must have been about 1906. Q. And what year was it that you went into your sec 4 ond theatre? A. Well, it would be 1909. (I And all the time that you have been in the theatre into which you went in 1909, you have been using licensed service, have you not? A. No, sir. Q. Did you ever use independent service in the theatre which you opened in 1909? A. Yes, sir. Q. Well, during what period did you use independent service in your second theatre? A. Well, let's see — I used independent service about a year and a half.