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 000363 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 3
Leaf #:
000363
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 12, 2024
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Frank L. Dyer, Direct Examination. 1589 Q. What competition have you in that territory? A. The Mutual Film Company maintains a branch at Cleveland, Ohio, and the Universal program is distributed by the Victor Film Service, of Cleveland, Ohio. The Mutual Company maintains an office at Columbus, Ohio, and the Universal films are distributed from Toledo, Ohio, by a concern called the Toledo Film Exchange Company, and both of these exchanges also compete with the Cleveland branch. Q. What territory is served from the branch office of the General Film Company, maintained at Columbus, Ohio? A. Practically the City of Columbus, and the territory immediately surrounding it. Q. What competition have you in that territory? A. The Mutual Company maintains a branch at Columbus, so as to directly compete with us, and also maintains branches at Cincinnati and Cleveland, which can also and do reach the Columbus territory. The Universal film is handled from Cleveland, Toledo, and Cincinnati, which points also include the Columbus territory. Q. What exchanges handle Universal programs at Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo? A. The Cincinnati Buckeye Film Exchange handles the Universal program at Cincinnati ; the Victor Film Service handles the Universal program in Cleveland, and the Toledo Film Exchange Company handles the Universal program in Toledo. Q. What territory is served from the branch of the General Film Company, maintained at Dallas, Texas? A. The Dallas branch until the formation of the branch at Houston, served the entire State of Texas, and also some towns in Arkansas, and Oklahoma, on the Texas border. Since the formation of the branch at Houston the territory of the Dallas branch is confined to towns in the neighborhood of Dallas, including Fort Worth, and territory south and north of Dallas. Q. What competition have you in that territory? A. The Mutual Company maintains a branch in Dallas, a block away from our branch, and the Universal film is distributed in Dallas by the Consolidated Film Supply Co. Both the Universal and the Mutual companies maintain branches in Amarillo, Texas, which point I am not familiar with, but it is evidently a railroad center, and probably competes with the Dallas branch. The Mutual Company also maintains a