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 #:
000247
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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J. A. SCHUCHERT, REDIRECT EXAMINATION. 2097 that supplies a daily complete service for theatres, or is it a company that supplies special features? A. They supply special features, but can supply three changes a week, giving a man a program on which he can do business. Q. That is, if he changed three times a week? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do not the majority of your customers change their entire program every day? A. Yes, sir. Q. Does the Famous Players Film Company supply a complete service for a theatre? A. No, they do not. Unless a man wishes to run the same program an entire week. Q. But the general rule is for a theatre to take their service for a day or two, and then return to the regular service that it may be taking from you, or from one of the other distributing agencies? A. Yes, I find the majority of theatres using their service run it from two days to four. A few exceptions run it an entire week. Q. Then, the only two companies that furnish a complete service other than yourselves, are the Mutual and the Universal? A. Yes. And the Greater Xew York. Q. How many different reels does your branch offer a week? A. We handle from forty-six to forty-seven. It varies between those two. Q. Reels? A. Yes, sir. Q. Does that include specials? A. We have also the Exclusive Department which handles twelve or thirteen reels per week. Q. Does the Exclusive Department yet furnish enough reels to constitute the entire program of a theatre? A. Where a theatre wants to change only two or three times a week. Redirect examination by Mr. Caldwell: Q. Is it customary in your district, that a theatre using the special feature service of the Warner or other companies change daily, or only twice or three times a week? A. They usually use the Warner in addition to our service. Q. You have just stated that the Warner Company is able to supply a regular service to a theatre that does not change more than three times a week. A. Yes. Q. Now, are there many theatres in your district that take a service of that kind and change only three times a