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 #:
000383
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:
July 25, 2024
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Ike Van Roxkel, Direct Examination. 2233 Q. State the circumstances under which you made that sale. A. The condition of the business, as I stated before, was becoming demoralized, and it looked like It was the end of it, and we had one General Film Company exchange in Chicago, and we had about 15 other kinds, including ours. So the Board of Directors had a meeting, and we decided to see if we could not sell to the General Film Company, and, as manager, I took the Twentieth Century train and came on from Chicago, and went down to No. 10 Fifth Avenue, and had a meeting with Mr. Kennedy. He said, "What are you doing here?" I said, "I have come to see about selling my exchange." He said, "We don't want any." I said, "I have got a good one, and if it is handled rightly, it can be kept alive. But, under the circumstances, the conditions are very bad; I am working night and day; I go to bed at night with a hundred customers, and wake up the next morning with forty." He said, "Do you know what you want for it?" I said, "Oh, yes.v I said, "Naturally, I will want more than you will give me." Everybody does. However, I sold it to him for $10,000 more— $9,500 more than the directors decided I should get. So I wired them, and they were very much pleased. Q. At what price did you sell? A. Forty-nine thousand five hundred dollars. We were asking $25,000 in casli for it about a month before we sold to the General Film Company, and we had 25 shares of stock, and we thought a thousand dollars a share was a pretty good price. And we got $19,500, so we thought we were doing pretty good. Q. Had the exchange business in Chicago been profitable for some time prior thereto? A. In 1906 it was very profitable. It kept going backwards. Otherwise we would not have wanted to have sold it. It did not look good to us. We thought it was near the end. Q. Was it profitable in 1909? A. We were making very little money then. Q. Were any threats made by anyone connected witli the General Film Company or the Motion Picture Patents Company that, if you did not sell, your license would be cancelled? A. No, sir. I have my license yet, I have my trade-mark and name. The American Film Service. We only sold the assets, the reels and the picture machines.