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 #:
000286
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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2736 Morris A. Ohoynski, Direct Examination. both so booked up that you could not get a complete pro gram? A. Positively. Q. Do you know of theatres which are running complete unlicensed programs? A. Yes, they are running complete unlicensed programs, but they are running two different programs. I cannot recall any house now that is running a complete unlicensed program. Q. During the time that you were taking service from the General Film Company, did you find the General Film Company willing to co-operate with you in giving the sort of program that you wanted for your customers? A. Positively they co-operated. They gave me what I wanted. Q. Did you ever make a request of them to make some changes in the program, and give you films that you thought would be desirable to show to your public? A. Many is the time I have had them change their system for me, and give me different pictures. Q. During the time you were taking the General Film Service, did representatives of the independent exchanges call upon you from time to time to solicit }our business? A. Oh, yes, numerous times. (>. Did they make you inducements in the way of programs or prices? A. No, they never got that far with me. I Avas satisfied where I was, and was getting what I paid for. Q. During the time you have been an exhibitor of motion pictures, have you observed whether or not the quality of the pictures furnished by the licensed producers has improved or deteriorated? A. Certainly I have noticed it. Q. What would you say as to whether there has been an improvement or not? A. I say that they have constantly improved. Q. Do you find that the producers of licensed motion pictures are competing with one another for the business of the exhibitor as to the quality of their products? A. Unquestionably. Q. Do they scud you printed matter and circulars as to the quality of their productions, and urging upon you that you insist upon certain subjects from your exchange? A. They send so many circulars and so much literature that it becomes a nuisance, really.