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 #:
000266
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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2716 W. Allen Kenney, Direct Examination. Thereupon, W. ALLEN KENNEY, the next witness produced by the defendants, of lawful age, being first duly sworn, deposed: Direct examination by Mr. Kingsley: Q. Where do you reside, Judge? A. Louisville, Kentucky. Q. How long have you been a resident at Louisville, Kenutcky? A. Forty-nine years. Q. During that period have you been engaged in the motion picture business in Louisville? A. Yes, sir, I have. Q. What years were you in the motion picture business? A. From about 1907 or 1908 up to the present time. Q. At the present do you operate a theatre or own a theatre in Louisville? A. I am an officer in the several corporations that own and operate four houses, three in Louisville, and one out of Louisville. Q. Will you tell us the names of the three houses in which you are interested as an officer in the corporations operating them in Louisville, and the one outside, giving the seating capacity of each? A. I am Secretary and Treasurer of the Princess Amusement Company, which owns the Orpheum Theatre, with a seating capacity of about four hundred and thirty. I am the Secretary and Treasurer of the Casino Amusement Company which operates the Casino Theatre, with a seating capacity of about four hundred aud thirty. I am the Secretary and Treasurer of the Vaudo Amusement Company which owns and operates the Columbia Theatre with a seating capacity of about two hundred and thirty. I am the President of the Henderson Amusement Company which owns and operates the Princess Theatre in Henderson, Kentucky. Q. Were you interested in any way in motion picture theatres in 1909 and 1910? A. I was, in the same capacity that I am today. Q. What character of service do you use in the four houses you have mentioned, the licensed or the unlicensed? A. At present the licensed in all of them. Q. Did yon use the licensed service in these four houses in 1909 and in the early part of 1910? A. T did in all of those that were4 in existence at that time. Q. And from what licensed rental exchange did you