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 #:
000503
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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Hector J. Streyckmans, Cross Examination. 1121 A. No, no, probably, oh, divided probably, fifteen subjects, twenty reels of each. Q. That is what I wanted to get at. A. A large number of prints on different subjects were sold. Q. When was it you learned that Mr. Kleine was to become a licensee of the Patents Company? A. I think it was in the latter part of August, or the first part of September, that he told me it had been finally decided to organize this company. Q. When was it that you began your campaign to secure the agency of the European manufacturers? A. I began my campaign about January 11th, 1909, or 12th, I think it was, after the conversation that I had with Mr. Dyer — we were both in New York, and on the 9th, or 10th, we went back to Chicago, and after the conversation I had with Mr. Kleine I decided to go into the moving picture business. Q. Kleine or Dyer? A. I meant Kleine, I saw Mr. Dyer also. Mr. Kleine was in New York, and I was also in New York, and after I got back in Chicago, about the 11th, or 12th, and after that conversation I had with Mr. Kleine, I thought I would start something myself. Q. And how many agencies did you acquire? A. I started with eighteen, and ended with thirty-two. Q. Foreign manufacturers? A. Yes, sir; I had the world's market corralled, all but the manufacturers that were in the Patents Company, and the Great Northern, which was negotiating with us. Q. And did you finally get the Great Northern? A. We did not. Q. How long did you remain with the International Projecting & Producing Company? A. Well, I was a Director of it, and it didn't last more than a year; so I was practically with it all its life. Q. Were you the manager of it the most of the time? A. I was not. Q. What did you do after you left that company? A. I went back to the Show World again. Q. And how long did you stay with the Show World? A. About a year — no, I was with the Show World about six months. Q. What did you do then? A. I went with the New York Motion Picture Company.