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 000589 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 #:
000589
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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Samuel H. Shirley, Cross Examination. 2439 Film Company are competing for the business of the theatres? A. I presume so, yes, sir. Q. What other towns are there in which you and the Philadelphia branch are in competition? A. Philadelphia puts service into Shamokin. How much, I do not know. Q. Do you, also? A. Yes, sir. Q. And in what other towns? A. Philadelphia puts service into Wilkes-Barre. Philadelphia puts service into Scranton. Q. You serve in all those towns? A. Yes, sir. Q. And there are other places, are there not, in which you and the Philadeplhia branch compete? A. Yes, sir; but I cannot recall them at the present time. Q. What towns are there in which you compete with the Buffalo branch? A. Only one that I know of, Binghamton. Q. Where each of you has customers? A. Yes, sir. Q. And there are other towns being served by the Buffalo branch which may be about as easily reached from your branch? A. Yes, sir. Q. And there are towns which you are serving, where the Buffalo branch is not serving, which may be about as easily reached by the Buffalo branch as by your branch? A. Yes, sir. Q. You do not have any arrangement with the managers of the Philadelphia branch, and Buffalo branch, that you shall not go into certain territory? A. No, sir. Q. You get your films by express and parcels post from the factories of the manufacturers at Philadelphia, in the State of New Jersey, and in the State of New York, and Chicago? A. I do not remember of ever getting any by parcels post. I have had some by special delivery, but all of the balance, so far as I know, came by express. Q. From the places I have named? A. From the different film manufacturers. Now, I don't know where they are all located. Some in New York State, some in Chicago, and one, I believe, in New Jersey. Q. They are shipped by you, after you receive them, to your customers? A. Yes, sir. Q. What per cent, of your weekly receipts is made up by the payments made by the exhibitors for the rentals of these films? A. About ninety-five per cent. Q. In renting these films yon charge the exhibitor accord