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 #:
000532
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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2382 Calvin S. Edwards, Redirect Examination. 1 Q. You have nine pictures of the same age, each from one of the different manufacturers whose output the General Film Company distributes, you charge the same for each of those nine reels? A. The price would be the same. Q. Irrespective of the quality? A. If they are the same age. Q. The fact that one may be a tragedy, and another a comedy, and another a scenic picture, makes no difference in the price quoted by you? A. No, sir. Mr. Grosvenor : I wish you would produce for inspection, on further cross examination, the list of 535 theatres which you referred to on direct examination as having been the source, that is, the card index — as having been the source of the information upon which you gave your answer on direct examination, that there were 535 theatres. I wish you would produce that as it was when you left Kansas City. Mr. Caldwell: Have you got that list with you? 3 The Witness : I have got the total. By Mr. Grosvenor : Q. Did you bring the list with you? A. I don't know whether I have it or not, Q. Don't you know whether you brought that card index? A. I have a mass of papers, and it may be among them. I have not looked at it since I came to New York. Q. When did you come to New York? A. On Monday morning. Q. How large is this card index? A. Oh, I have not the card index with me. Q. That is what we are asking for. You did not bring the card index with you? A. No, sir. Redirect examination by Mr. Caldwell : Q. Now, have you included in the list of customers which you state are being served by your office, all theatres served from your office that take service only once or twice a week? A. Yes.