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 4
Leaf #:
00040
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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1890 William Brandt, Cross Examination. Q. Could the Universal give you a complete service? A. A complete service. The Mutual. Q. Could the Mutual give you a complete service? A. Yes. Q. What else? A. Warner's Features. Q. Could they give you a complete service? A. Yes, sir. Q. What does that comprise? A. Well, they release three or four two or three-reel subjects a week, and then they have on hand any number of reels as commercials. The two or three-reel subjects are always the feature, and the commercials are only an aftermath. Q. From what other sources could you get your service? A. There are any number of feature film exchanges. The Exclusive Feature Film Company. They release four or five two or three-reel features, and the}T have a large number of commercials on hand. Then there is the Kinemacolor. Then there are smaller concerns by the score. Cross examination by Mr. Grosvenor : Q. Are specials an important part of your program? A. Decidedly. Q. And they are in all successful moving picture theatres today? A. Well, that all depends. Q. Upon what? A. On the locality of the theatre. Q. As far as your observation goes, the usual theatre exhibits specials? A. Most theatres. Q. Was your license ever cancelled by the Patents Company? A. No, sir. Q. Do you change your program daily? A. Daily. Q. And howT many new pictures do you show every day? A. I use six every day, new ones; brand new ones without repeats. Q. Then you use in a week, forty-two? A. Forty-two new pictures. Q. And you say Warner gets out how many every week? A. Warner's get out three or four two-reel features every week. Q. And do they get out any other pictures besides this? A. They always have a large list of commercials. Q. Commercials is the stock on hand? A. Stock on hand. Q. But the forty-two reels that the General Film Com