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 #:
000503
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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Stanley W. Hatch, Cross Examination. 2353 a daily change of program, do they not? A. Practically all of them. Some of them only operate three days in the week; some, only two days in the week. But nearly all of them change every day, six or seven days a week. Q. How many of those 268 theatres do change every day, would you say? A. I would say, 240 of them. Q. This territory which you reach through your general agency includes many small farming communities, doesn't it? A. Yes; some very small towns. Especially in Kentucky. Q. And in those small towns, the theatre is generally run only Saturday night or Sunday; isn't that the case? A. Well, very few. The majority of them run every night, or three nights a week. Q. But there are some that run only one night a week? A. There are some, yes, sir. Q. And there are quite a number that run only three nights a week? A. Yes, sir. Q. Xow, in forming your estimate of the number of theatres in your territory, you have termed, or considered, a theatre any house which shows moving pictures, whether that is open one night a week or three nights a week? A. Yes, sir. Q. Or six nights a week? A. Yes, sir. Q. The prices at which you sub-rent films are governed by the age of the film? A. Yes, sir. Q. And are not determined by the make? A. Xo, sir. Q. So that, if you have a reel from each of the nine manufacturers; that is, making nine reels, and they are all of the same age, you will sub-rent each of those reels at the same price? A. Yes, sir. Q. In what way is the territory of your branch divided off from the territory of the nearest branch or the adjoining branches of the General Film Company? A. Well, according to the best way to ship to the town, the railroad connections, and so on. There are no distinct lines as to territory. When we are in doubt, we ask the other branch if they are supplying them; if they can ship them better than we can. If they can get in there quicker, we turn it over to the other branch. Q. Do you have a certain defined territory marked out for you by the home office in New York? A. No, sir.