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)

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 #:
000225
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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John D. Kesseek. Direct Examination. 2675 changed? A. Yes, sir, interlocking, and repeating on my competitor, that I changed to the licensed service. 1 Thereupon JOHN DANIEL KESSLER, the next witness produced by the defendants, of lawful age, first duly sworn by the Examiner, deposed as follows : Direct examination by Mr. Kingsley : Q. Mr. Kessler, where do you live? A. Sandusky, Ohio. Q. How long have you been a resident of Sandusky, Ohio? A. I have been born and raised there. Q. What business are you engaged in? A. The theatrical business. Q. How long have you been in the theatrical business? A. I have been in the theatrical business, with the Star Theatre, since I started the theatre, going on four years. Q. Is the Star Theatre a motion picture theatre? A. Yes, sir. Q. Had you owned or operated any other theatre prior to this? A. I operated the Jewell Theatre in Toledo, and I was under Mr. Braley, at the Princess Theatre at Toledo. Q. Did you operate the Star and Jewell theatres together at any time? A. No, sir, the Jewell was at Toledo, and the Star at Sandusky. Q. Did you operate them at the same time? A. No, sir. Q. After you left the Jewell did you go to the Star Theatre? A. After leaving the Jewell Theatre I bought what they called the Diamond Theatre, at Toledo, and though a little piece of crooked work I was done away with, and I came back to Sandusky, and opened up the Star Theatre. The place was closed there for about two years. Q. The Star Theatre was operated continuously for four years? A. Yes, sir, for four years. Q. What is its seating capacity? A. Three hundred. Q. Have you any competition in your immediate neighborhood? A. Yes, sir. Q. What service do you use in the Star? A. The General Film Company. Q. What service is used by your immediate competitor? A. One uses the General Film, and the other theatre the independent.