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 #:
000617
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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Albert W. Guff, Redirect Examination. 2467 Q. The demand from whom? A. The exhibitors. Q. And do yon find that the pictures of certain producers handled by you are more popular than others that are handled by you? A. Yes, sir. Q. And does that vary from time to time with the different producers? A. Yes, sir. A picture as an exhibitor mentions as having a "punch'' or a "draft." Q. What do you mean by a "punch'' or a "draft?'' A. Well, a knock out. A picture that will draw over and above the ordinary. Q. Do you find that the orders of the exhibitors are governed to an extent by the personality of the actors and the actresses who figure in 'these plays? A. They will come under that heading. Q. In making your selections by what circumstances are you governed? A. By the demands of the territory, of the exhibitors generally. For instance, I cancelled Melies pictures because my customers do not want them. Q. In giving an exhibitor his weekly service do you undertake to provide him with a complete theatrical show for each evening of the week, if he has a daily change? A. Yes, sir. Q. And what you sell him is that show, isn't it? A. Sure. We sell them film service. Q. Even though you do purchase these pictures at so much per foot? A. Yes, sir. Q. And even though you are guided in the prices which you quote him by the age of the film, what you really sell him is a complete program for an evening's entertainment, is it not? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you find that even for the same age of film there are variations in the demands of your customers? A. I don't get your idea. Q. Do you find that some of your exhibitors will prefer a twenty-day-old subject provided by one manufacturer, to a twenty-day-old subject produced by another manufacturer? Mr. Grosvenor : Objected to, as leading in form. By Mr. Caldwell : (>. Does that happen? A. Well, there is no doubt about it; yes, sir. A popular subject at any age is popular with them. A man taking a ten-day service will happen to miss a subject thirty days old, and he will put in a request to 2