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 000158 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 2
Leaf #:
000158
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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776 J. L. Carlton, Direct Examination. improvements made in projecting machines during the time you have been in the motion picture business? A. Projecting machines have been very materially improved. Q. In what respects? A. As to their mechanical stability— Q. Mechanical what, stability? A. Yes, sir, stability and solidity of construction; they have been made solid and substantial, and better made mechanically, more accurate in registration, and the lamps, or lanterns, have been considerably improved. The manufacturers of carbon have made very much finer and better carbon, so that we are able to get a considerably stronger and clearer light than we used to get a few years ago. Q. Have the improvements which have been made in the lens had any effect in improving the quality of projecting machines? A. Yes, I think so. Q. You may state whether there has been any improvement in the condenser. A. Yes, there has been improvement in the quality of the condenser, as to the quality of the glass. Q. What is a condenser? A. A condenser is a combination of plain or convex lenses, placed in front of the source of light, to concentrate it to the aperture. Q. What sort of a shutter is used in the projecting machines with which you are familiar? A. There are several varieties of shutters. Q. By a shutter, you refer to the part of the instrument which cuts off the light while one picture is being succeeded by another picture? A. Yes, sir. Q. Please describe the different kinds of shutters that you have seen used. A. A shutter, as a general proposition, is on a revolving axis, which rotates in unison with the movement of the film, with a solid part sufficiently broad to cover the light aperture during the period of movement of the film. In some cases, this is the only shutter used. Q. That is a shutter composed of two segments? A. Of one single segment. Q. Composed of a single segment? A. Broad enough to cover. Q. The rest and opening? A. Yes, sir. Q. Please continue. A. Sometimes the opening is broken bv one or more narrow bars that pass in front of the light