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 000595 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 #:
000595
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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Herbert C. Wales, Redirect Examination. 2445 Q. Is there any town in which you have a customer, in which town the Boston branch of the General Film Company also has a customer? A. Not to my knowledge. Q. Utica is another city in which you have a customer and the Buffalo branch also has a customer? A. Yes, sir, that is one of the two cities. Q. Have you included the theatres at Utica in your estimate of the total number of theatres in your territory, namely, 370 to 420? A. Yes, sir. Q. Films are shipped to you from the factories of these manufacturers? A. Yes. Q. What per cent, of your weekly receipts is made up of the payments from your exhibitors for the rental of these films? A. You mean differentiating the rentals from the merchandise sales, for instance? Q. Yes. A. The rentals are fully 90 to 95 per cent, on the average. Q. And you charge the exhibitors according to the age of the picture, and not according to the name of the maker? A. According to the age. Q. Do you pay the same for different makes, that is, you pay according to the length of the film, and regardless of the name of the maker? A. Yes, sir, so much per foot. Redirect examination by Mr. Caldwell : Q. On your direct examination, page 2288, in answer to the question what competition you have, you stated, "We have the Rex Film Exchange in Albany, the Universal and Mutual in New York." What program is handled by the Rex Film Exchange in Albany? A. The Universal. Q. Who is it that orders the motion pictures for your branch of the General Film Company? A. I do. Q. Are you controlled in any way in your selection of pictures by the home office? A. No, sir, in no wTay. Q. Do they ever undertake to get you to favor any particular manufacturer? A. Absolutely not. Q. Or to limit you in any way in your choice? A. No, sir, never. Q. On what is your selection of pictures based? A. Largely, or generally, by the demand of the exhibitors. Q. What do you mean by largely or generally by the demand of the exhibitors? A. Exhibitors have certain pref