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 #:
000299
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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William Pelzeb, Direct Examination. 277 to get all of the rental exchange business or the licensed ex * changes? Mr. Caldwell: I object to that question for the reason last stated. A. I don't know that, or rather didn't know it; don'1 know it, and didn't know it. Q. Well, can you state what was the plan as you understood it in the beginning of 1910? A. The only thing I knew as to the plans was that they were going into the exchange business. Q. All over the country? A. I was not told that. I gathered that from the procedure afterwards that they were going into it all over the country. Q. Didn't they say so at this meeting, didn't any of them say so at this meeting at which you were present? A. I do not recall any such specific discussion. Q. What other subjects were discussed at these meetings other than the purchase of these rental exchanges? Mr. Caldwell: I object to that question on the q same grounds heretofore stated. A. I cannot recall any specific discussion extending over this long time. Q. Does the General Film Company do business in projecting machines? A. They sell projecting machines, yes. Q. What else do they sell besides projecting machines and film? A. The supplies that enter into the business generally. Q. What were the net profits of the General Film Company for the year 1910? A. I cannot state. 4 Q. For the year 1911? A. I cannot state. Q. Are you the Treasurer of the company? A. Yes. Q. Can't you give any idea of it? A. I became Treasurer of the company the middle of December. Q. You have been Secretary of the company all this time? A. But I never had access to its books, that is, its books of account.