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 #:
000525
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:
July 25, 2024
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Calvin S. Edwards, Cross Examination. 2375 City branch does. I don't know anything about the other branch. Q. Please look at this map which I show you and state the territory which is embraced in your district? Mr. Caldwell: I would like to have it stated on the record, what the map is, and have it marked for identification. The Witness: We take in the entire State of Kansas, and go to Mobley. By Mr. Grosvenor : Q. In Missouri? A. Yes, sir. Q. Then you go as far east as Mobley? A. Yes, sir, as far east in Missouri, as Mobley. Q. How far south do you go? A. We draw a line north and south, through Missouri. Q. Yes, but that gives your eastern limit. Now, what is your southern limit? A. The State. Q. Look at the map and state it on the record, Mr. Edwards? Try and concentrate your attention on this matter. Give the borders of your general agency? A. All of the State of Kansas, eastern Missouri, to Mobley. Q. You mean western Missouri, to Mobley? A. East from Kansas City. Q. Which makes the western part of Missouri as far east as Mobley? A. Yes, sir. To the southern boundary of Kansas, the southern boundary of Missouri, the northern boundary of Missouri, and the northern boundary of Kansas. Q. Now, witness, look at this map and state what is the debatable ground around your general agency, that is to say, what is the territory that is just as well reached by the other agencies? A. Any of this territory could be reached by any of the General Film Company's offices throughout the United States, if they wanted to come in there. Q. Now, witness, you testified on cross examination that all around the borders of your agency there are theatres which may be reached by the adjoining general agency, isn't that right? A. Yes. Q. Please mark out the limits on this map of the territory