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 #:
00080
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:
July 25, 2024
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1930 George Cohen, Direct Examination. getting motion pictures before the formation of the General Film Company? A. The Empire Film Company, 14th Street, New York City; I think, the Greater Pittsburgh Film Exchange, Pittsburgh, Pa., and the Great Eastern Film Exchange. Q. Did you for several years obtain motion pictures from these various exchanges before the formation of the General Film Company? A. Yes, sir. Q. Before the formation of the General Film Company did you find it possible to obtain definite and fixed programs for your theatres, of motion pictures, which you could announce and advertise in advance with the certainty that you would have these pictures on the day designated? A. I obtained many promises for such programs, but they never were kept. Q. What was your experience in trying to have a definite and fixed program or programs which you might advertise in advance prior to the formation of the General Film Company? A. The experience generally was that the promises were broken, and in order to obtain the keeping of any sort of a promise that had been made it was necessary to tip the various people connected with the exchange, otherwise no promises were kept. Q. Were you ever disappointed in a program because of the failure of the exchange to deliver it on time? A. Oh, hundreds of times. Q. Did you ever advertise a program in advance, and find when the day came, your advertising had been entirely lost or wasted because the program was not furnished? A. I found it was not delivered because some other exhibitor had come in and handed out more money than I had, and got the show. That was the usual experience. Q. Did you have any experience before the formation of the General Film Company with reference to keeping your service clear? A. Yes, sir. Q. And what was your experience in that respect? A. It was almost impossible to keep it clear. Q. And by "clear" what do you mean? A. The preventing of the showing of the same pictures our competitors are showing at the same time. Q. Did you frequently find that your immediate competitor was showing on the same day some of the same pictures you were showing? A. Yes, sir.