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 (1913)

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:
1913
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 1
Leaf #:
000236
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:
May 23, 2024
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214 Harry N. Marvin, Direct Examination. Q. The next paragraph: "The rental exchanges would establish theatres or acquire an interest in existing theatres." Now, is that statement accurate, or should that be modified so as to read : "Some of the rental exchanges would establish theatres?" A. Miany rental exchanges became interested in theatres. Q. But it is not true as it reads — A. (Interrupting.) 1 do not understand that it says "all." Q. It says: "The rental exchanges would establish theatres or acquire an interest in existing theatres." You do not mean that that applies to all theatres? A. To all exchanges? Q. To all exchanges. Yes. A. Not to every one. Q. (Reading) : "The large majority of rental agencies thus acquired little circuits of theatres" etc. Is that an accurate statement? "The large majority," or should it be "some of the rental exchanges?" A. I think that condition applied to the majority. Q. You are able to give definite information on that point, are you? A. As definite as that statement is. Q, Now, can you furnish a list of some of those exchanges? A. I can. Q. The next paragraph : "Exchanges would make contracts with exhibitors for service of a certain class based usually on the age of the film supplied. Such contracts were almost invariably broken." Now, upon what do you base that statement : "Such contracts were almost invariably broken?" A. Upon an enormous mass of complaints directed to the Motion Picture Patents Company by exhibitors from all over the country, making those statements. A great many of which, upon investigation, proved to be well founded. Q. Have you preserved a record of those complaints? A. Wo have not preserved a classified record, but a multitude of them can be abstracted from the files of the company. Q. There were about 110 rental exchanges, ranging down to when the Film Company was formed, to about 80 or 90? A. T do not think there were as many as that at the time of the organization of the General Film Company. I think there were between 50 and GO exchanges licensed at that time. Q. And these were doing business with how many thousands of theatres? A. With upwards of 5,000 theatres.