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 #:
00093
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:
June 13, 2024
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Louis Rosenbluh, Cross Examination. 711 The Witness: Do you want me to read it? By Mr. Kingsley: Q. Just read it to yourself, and then tell me. Have you read it? A. Yes. Q. Is not that a bulletin from the Motion Picture Patents Company dated April 19th, 1910, to the effect that the licenses of Miles Brothers, Incorporated, at Baltimore, Maryland, and the Imperial Film Exchange at New York, Troy, New York, and Washington, D. C, had been cancelled for supplying licensed film to exhibitors whose royalties had not been forwarded to this company, for exchanging film, and for failure to take proper precautions to prevent licensed films from passing into the hands of unlicensed purchasers? A. Yes, sir. Q. So that was not in July, 1910? A. I did not say that that is so. Mr. Grosvenor: I think that is improper cross examination, and for the purpose of giving a false impression. The date of that circular is one day after the General Film Company was organized, so that it shows that they did cancel two licenses the day after the General Film Company was organized, which is directly in line with what the witness testifies, being at page 366. The Witness: It began doing business as the Waters Exchange. By Mr. Kingsley: Q. That was the time it began doing business, about July, 1910? A. They had another office— Q. (interrupting) : Was that about the time they began doing business, July, 1910? A. Of the renting of film in New York. They were in business prior to that time. Q. I also call your attention to Petitioner's Exhibit No. 26 at page 77. Now, referring to Petitioner's Exhibit No. 26 at page 77, I call your attention to that exhibit, dated April 23rd, 1910, which is a notice of cancellation of the license of Miles Brothers, Inc., New York City, and Miles Brothers, Boston, Massachusetts, and states that the li