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 00047 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 4
Leaf #:
00047
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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William A. Landau, Direct Examination. 1897 General Film Company's service, that you could not go to some other exchange if you wished? A. Xo, sir. Q. Have you observed whether or not the producers of motion pictures have competed with one another in order to get the favor of exhibitors? I mean the licensed producers. A. Only in that respect, that each manufacturer, I believe, is trying to outdo the other in his productions. Q. Do they call your attention to their work which they consider peculiarly meritorious, by sending you circulars and letters, and asking you to demand of the exchange, those films? A. They send you advance notices giving you the synopses of the stories, and cuts from that particular film, giving you the description of various and different scenes, and so on. Q. Do the unlicensed exchanges solicit your business from time to time? A. Right along. Q. Do they promise you good service? A. Well, it is just like every other salesman, I suppose ; he is trying to offer you the best goods, and naturally makes you all kinds of promises, but it is up to the buyer to look into the merits. Q. Do they quote you attractive prices? A. Far below the price that I have been paying to the General Film Company. Q. Have you dealt at all with unlicensed exchanges in the past few years? A. Yes, sir. With the Mutual. Q. What was your experience as to whether the unlicensed exchanges with which you dealt were reliable or unreliable? A. Very unreliable. Q. By that you mean what? A. I could not get the films that I had booked for and advertised. The day of release, they made some excuse to me that some of the films did not come in from out of town, or destroyed, or any old excuse. Q. When you use the expression "day of release,"' do you mean the day on which they had agreed to give you the film? A. The day that they had agreed to, to give it to me. Q. The day you wanted it? A. The day I wanted it. Q. And you found it unsafe to advertise under those conditions? A. Yes. Q. And the condition became generally unsatisfactory? A. Yes, sir. Q. What projecting machine do you use in your place of business? A. Powers Xos. 5 and 6, and the Standard.