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 2
Leaf #:
00082
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:
June 13, 2024
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700 Louis Rosenbluh, Cross Examination. tures to the patrons of my theatres, but I am not able to do it unless I am willing to violate the license agreement with the Motion Picture Patents Company, and therefore I am unable to show it. Q. What are the kinemacolor pictures? A. That is a process that instead of exhibiting pictures on a screen in black and white color — Q. That is, the monochrome? A. Yes; that makes it possible to show it in the true color, the color of the costume, the face, the different colors. Q. Are these colored pictures the latest development in the moving picture art? A. To the best of my knowledge, they are. Q. Do you find that the patrons of theatres located in different sections of the city desire different kinds of pictures; that is, will the patrons in one section of the city prefer a certain class of pictures and the patrons in another section of the city prefer a different type? A. It depends upon the population you are catering to, or on the class of people you are trying to entertain, as to the kind of pictures they like best, but on account of this condition of not being able to interchange the licensed and unlicensed film we are unable to do anything else but to show them everything that is made, whether they like it or whether they don't. Mr. Grosvenor: You are excused, Mr. Fox, until 2:30 o'clock to-morrow. Thereupon LOUIS ROSEN BLUH resumed the stand for cross examination. Cross examination by Mr. Kingsley: Q. Mr. Rosenbluh, what is your position with The Greater New York Film Rental Company? A. General Manager. Q. When did The Greater New York Film Rental Company go into business? A. In 1907. Q. How long was it in business at the time of the adoption of the Edison license agreement? A. About a year.