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 #:
000250
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:
September 21, 2023
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868 Charles H. Balsley, Direct Examination. Q. In the Summer of 1912, you may state whether or not you took some moving picture films of the school children of the Town of Connellsville? A. Yes, sir. Q. About how many school children took part in that exhibition? A. About 2,500. Q. And how long was the film? A. About 1,800 feet, Q. I show you a letter dated September 14th, 1912, on the letterhead of the Motion Picture Patents Company, addressed to the Imp Theatre, Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Please state what negotiations you had, if any, with that theatre, the Imp Theatre of Uniontown, in regard to exhibiting the films of these school children in that theatre? A. Uniontown is twelve miles from Connellsville, and I made arrangements with the manager of the Imp Theatre, Mr. McClosker, to show my pictures, and took him up the reels, which he kept. A few days afterwards, he notified me that the General Film Company of Pittsburgh would not allow him to show them, and for me to come up and see him, and I came up and saw him, and he said he would write in to the Patents Company, which he did, and got a reply from them stating that they could not show the pictures. And I took the reels away then and brought them home. Q. Is this the letter to which you refer? (Handing paper to witness.) A. (witness examining paper) : This letter was handed to me by Mr. McClosker, the manager of the theatre. M(r. Grosvenor: I offer it in evidence. The paper offered is marked Petitioner's Exhibit No. 161 and is as follows : Petitioner's Exhibit No. 161. MOTION PICTURE PATENTS COMPANY. 80 Fifth Avenue, New York. September 14th, 1912. Imp Theatre, 28 East Main Street, Uniontown, Pa. Gentlemen : Replying to your letter of September 10th.