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 000406 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 #:
000406
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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2256 Alton Tredick, Direct Examination. which are being served by other branches of the General •Film Company? A. No, sir. Q. What is the average cost of service to the exhibitor who is served by the General Film Company in your territory? A. Twenty-six dollars and eighty cents, if I am not mistaken. Q. Do you know what the average cost of service provided by the Mutual and Universal is? A. I am very certain that the average would be almost identical, if not identical. Q. Can you describe the character of the competition that you are having in that territory? A. The character of the competition that we are having in that territory is that from the Mutual and Universal branches, located in Oklahoma City; there are traveling men continually on the road, and they are doing anything other than cutting prices. We are also surrounded by these smaller exchanges, who will rent films for practically any price that they can secure. They are located closer to the smaller customers in the smaller towns, the express charges are small, and they pay express charges but one way, and it is practically an impossibility to compete with them close to their office, on account of the prices which they are charging. The general situation in Oklahoma is one of the most severe competition I have ever experienced. Q. Will you explain how you book your customers? A. We are booking our customers on a basis of giving to the customer the very best possible service for the amount that is paid; in other words, figuring a pro rata film rental, and distributing the film service as to age, to customers, as they are paying for it. We are not selling service at the present time, in any instance, on age. The booking of customers is practically wholly and entirely the wishes of our customers. I do not believe that there has been an instance at any time where a customer has received any reel that he has not desired and actually wanted to ^oA, for the reason that we book our customers in the booking department, approximately very close to three weeks in advance at the present time, practically all of them, and our advance notices are sent out, on an average, a week and a half to two weeks in advance of the shipment, and until we get familiar with the wishes of the