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 #:
000508
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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2358 Ralph Le Beau, Direct Examination. approximately representing the total number of motion picture theatres includes any theatres that are served by other branches of the General Film Company than the Milwaukee branch? A. No, it does not. Q. You know that those figures do not include — A. They did not. Q. Do you know how many are served in that territory by the Mutual? A. One hundred and four, according to their printed list. Q. Do you know how many are served by the Universal? A. Twenty-seven, according to our records. Q. And how many are served from miscellaneous sources? A. Does that include the Davis Film Exchange? Q. Including the Davis? A. I should say twenty. Q. Do you know the total number of motion picture theatres in the City of Milwaukee? A. Sixty. Q. Of that number, how many are served by the General Film Company? A. Twenty-eight. Q. Green Bay, Wisconsin, how large a city is that? A. About 25,000. Q. What is the number of motion picture theatres there? A. Five. Q. How many does the General Film Company serve? A. Two. Q. Kenosha, Wisconsin; how large a city is that? A. About 30,000. Q. How many motion picture theatres are there? A. Seven. Q. How many does the General Film Company serve? A. Four. Counting two from the Chicago office. Q. Is that two included in your enumeration given above? A. In the one hundred and thirty-five? Q. Yes. A. It is not. Q. Is it included in the total number of theatres which you have stated to be two hundred and ninety in that district? A. It is. Q. Sheboygan, that is in Wisconsin? A. Yes. Q. How large a place is that? A. About 20,000. Q. How many motion picture theatres are there? A. Four. Q. And how many do you serve? A. Two.