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)

Page scan 000520 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:
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 #:
000520
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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498 William H. Swanson, Cross Examination. tary, it contains thereon the words on the last page, which are printed, "The cardinal points for which the Association has stood (which are the doing away of sub-renting, the elimination of distributing offices, and the requirement that an exchange to be upon a legitimate basis must buy a considerable amount of film to be shipped direct to each office which it is operating) have been established, and are now recognized in the Patent Company's new agreements." You concurred in that bulletin, didn't you? A. The portion of that bulletin that I concurred in — Q. (Interrupting) : Now, Mr. Swanson, won't you direct your answer to the quotation that I have given, and if you desire to make any explanation, go on and do so? A. That quotation, I have no recollection of concurring in it at all. Q. Well, why did you sign the bulletin? A. The bulletin was brought out by Mr. MacDonald while I was standing close to Mr. Harry Davis at the Western Union Telegraph station. Mr. MacDonald came over with a written instrument, and he said, "We have decided to split our treasury of the association, and the boys want to vote me a thousand dollars." He said, "If you are in favor of this step, put your name down there," and I did, without reading it. This part of it here, is his (indicating), and I know nothing about that (indicating). Q. As a matter of fact, had not you been working in the Film Service Association meeting, to have just such a provision as quoted from that bulletin, contained in all license agreements? A. Working in — read the question, please. The stenographer reads the question. By Mr. Willis: Q. Or brought about in some other way? A. I think you meant "meetings" instead of "meeting," didn't you. Q. Yes, "meetings." A. I certainly did, yes, sir. That is, the paragraph relating to the fact that there was a required number of reels to be purchased each week. Q. I am referring to the portion which I have quoted from the bulletin. A. Yes, sir. Mr. Willis: Mr. Examiner, will you mark that paper as an exhibit. The paper is marked "Defendant's Exhibit No. 1, and is as follows :