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 000520 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 #:
000520
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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2370 Calvin S. Edwards, Direct Examination. Q. Now, of that number, 535, are there any theatres served by the other branches of the General Film Company? A. Approximately six. Q. Do you know how many theatres in that territory are served by the Mutual program? A. Our records show one hundred and thirteen. Q. And how many are served by the Universal program? A. Seventy-eight. Q. Do you know how many towns there are in that territory where one or more motion picture theatres are located in which the General Film Company has no customer? A. There were one hundred and thirty-five towns in that territory in which there are no picture shows in which the General Film Company's pictures are shown. Q. And by the use of the words "in which the General Film Company's pictures are not shown" you mean where the General Film Company has no customer, do you not? A. That is what I mean. Q. Do you know how many motion picture theatres there are in Kansas City? A. One hundred and one. Q. And howT many of those theatres are supplied by the General Film Company? A. Forty-four. Q. How large a city is St. Joseph, Missouri? A. About 75,000. Q. How many motion picture theatres are located in that city? A. Eleven. Q. And of that number how many are served by the General Film Company? A. Seven. Q. Wichita, Kansas, how large a place is that? A. Fifty thousand. Q. How many motion picture theatres are there? A. Six. Q. And how many of those six are served by the General Film Company? A. Three. Q. Topeka, Kansas, how large a place is that? A. About 40,000. Q. How many motion picture theatres are there? A. Eight. Q. And how many of those eight are served by the General Film Company? A. Four. Q. Mr. Edwards, will you state the character of the competition between the General Film Company and the Universal and Mutual companies in that territory? How active is it? What do you do to get business, and what do they do