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 000414 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 #:
000414
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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2264 Elmer R. Pearson, Direct Examination. 1 are taking their entire service from the Warner Feature Company? A. There are. Q. To the exclusion of the programs of either the Mutual, Universal or General Film? A. Yes, sir. I can name two very important ones. Q. Will you name them? A. The Lily Theatre, at Lincoln, and the Grand Theatre, at Council Bluffs. They are so close to my office that I know about them, and they have been running that program for quite a long time. 9 Mr. Grosvenor: I object to the statement "quite a long time/' the same being indefinite. By Mr. Caldwell: Q. Explain what you mean by "quite a long time." A. About three or four months. I mean by quite a long time, a long enough time to demonstrate that they can supply a complete program. Q. What is the character of motion picture theatres in the district which is served by your branch, as to size and construction? A. Well, they range anywhere from 3 200 seating capacity up to as high as 1,800. I should say the average seating capacity would probably be somewhere about 350 or 400, and, of course, they vary in appointments as well. Some of them are very elaborate theatres, and, of course, a great many are of very cheap construction, and, in some of the smaller towns particularly, they are just what we term ordinarily as store shows. They have a storeroom, and have put in some seats, and are operating as a picture show. Q. Do you know how many theatres there are in the City of Omaha, where you are located? A. It is either 4 29 or 30. Q. And of that 29 or 30, how many are supplied witli the General Film Company program? A. It is either 16 or 17. Mr. Grosvenor: Do you mean 29 or 30 theatres that show every day different moving pictures? The Witness: Yes, operating regularly with moving pictures. ,