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 000247 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 #:
000247
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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John F. ITexxegax, Direct Examination. 2097 was making money towards the latter part there, and when the opportunity came up for disposing of it I was one of the happiest men in Cincinnati. Q. With whom did yon negotiate the sale of the Magnetic Film Exchange? A. With Mr. J. J. Kennedy, per sonally. Q. Did you go to New York? A. Yes, sir, personally, and had a personal interview with him. Q. Did you have any prolonged negotiations with Mr. Kennedy? A. No, I told him that we were anxious to dispose of the exchange, if everything was satisfactory, and he went over the matter with me, and then made me the proposition. Q. Did you accept that proposition? A. Well, it was so magnanimous that I was startled for a moment, and I got him to go over the figures again and write them down to make sure there was no mistake about it. Q. What did he pay you for the Magnetic Film Exchange? A. He paid in the neighborhood of thirtytwo thousand dollars. Q. How long had you had it? A. About a vear and a half. Q. Had you made any profit during the whole year and a half? A. Well, I should say there were no actual profits made. There probably might have been a few thousand dollars, but considering the amount of money invested in it I would not call that any profit. Q. Did you charge in any salary to the exchange for your own services? A. No. Q. Did you give considerable time to it? A. My brother gave more time to it, Q. Had you charged anything to the exchange for his services? A. Not a penny. Q. What arrangements were made for paying you for the exchange by the General Film Company, acting through Mr. Kennedy? A. Well, it is a contract of agreement, whicli I regard almost the same as notes, and at specified times, that is, four times every year, there is a payment made with six per cent, interest. Q. How many payments were there, altogether? A. It might possibly bo five per cent., but I am pretty sure it was six per cent.