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 000184 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 #:
000184
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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2034 J. A. Schuchert, Direct Examination. just someone buys the state rights of a feature film. The World Feature Film. I cannot recall the names, really. Q. And do they sometimes put their pictures in your theatres? A. Yes. Q. And during that time you lose that patronage? A. Sometimes we do; sometimes the customer keeps our service and uses the other in addition. Q. This competition, you say, was just as keen in August, 1912, as at the present time? A. Yes. Q. How about your competition with the independents in the year 1911? A. Well, it was not quite as strong then as it was in 1912, or as it is today. There were not as many theatres to supply, either. Q. But there was active competition at that time? A. Yes, there was. Q. You were then constantly losing customers to the independents? A. Yes, they were changing from one to the other. Q. And you were sometimes getting the customers of the independents? A. Yes. Whereupon, at 4 : 30 P. M., on this Monday, the 1st day of December, 1913, the hearings are adjourned until Tuesday, the 2nd day of December, 1913, at 10 : 30 A. M., at the Manhattan Hotel, New York City.