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 #:
000505
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. 2355 Q. Now, this card index that you maintain of the various theatres; what does that show respecting these different theatres? A. Just the name of the theatre and the town where it is located. Q. And the seating capacity? A. In some of them it does, and in some it does not. Q. And the number of days a week the theatre is open? A. No, it does not show that at all. Sometimes it is just the name of the theatre and the town. We have not been able to find out who owned it, even. Q. You receive these films at Cincinnati through shipments made from the factories of the various licensed manufacturers? A. Yes, sir. Q. Please name the cities and towns where are located the factories of the manufacturers from which the films are shipped to Cincinnati. A. They come from Chicago, Philadelphia and New York. Q. Any other places? A. New York I am not quite sure of. Jersey City. I call it all New York. Q. None of the shipments come from places in Ohio? A. Oh, no, sir. Q. You ship them from Cincinnati to your customers, the exhibitors located in the States you have named? A. Yes, sir. Q. And please repeat those States? A. Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, part of Indiana, Tennessee and Virginia. Q. What per cent, of the gross weekly receipts of the branch of the General Film Company of which you have charge, consists of payments made by exhibitors for the rental of the films which you ship to them? A. All of it, with the exception of a very small per cent, for supplies, such as carbons and tickets. Q. That does not amount to more than 5 per cent, of your receipts? A. Less than that. We sell very few supplies. Q. About how many theatres were you supplying a year ago; that is, your branch? A. I was not in Cincinnati a year ago. (For further cross examination see page 2450.)