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 #:
000620
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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2470 Chester W. Sawin, Cross Examination. Q. Did you count them up yourself? A. My assistant went over tliem for me, the assistant and the traveling representative. Q. You did not examine the papers yourself? A. I didn't examine them closely. I looked them over to see if there were any I could place that were not on there. Q. Did you count those yourself? A. Yes, sir, I did. Q. Did you bring any memorandum with you? A. Only of the total number. Q. Have you a list of those 275? A. Not in any one form, no, sir. They are taken from several records, reports, letters of inquiry, and reports that the traveling man gets, and also the record of our own cards. Q. What did you include in that term "theatre" going to make up the 275? A. Theatres in the cities in which we have customers. Q. What did you call a "theatre"? A. Any place that showed motion pictures. Regular moving picture theatres that use our films regularly, not theatres that do not handle films. Q. Would Chase's, in Washington, be considered a moving picture theatre? A. Yes, sir, that is included. They use a film every day in the week. I believe that is the only large house, vaudeville house, right along, that uses one film, that is included in that list. Q. The Music Hall, did you include that? A. That is a regular moving picture theatre. Q. Did you include in the 275, halls in which are shown motion pictures only once, or twice, or three times a week? A. I do not know of any theatres we have on our list only showing pictures once, or tAvice, or three times a week. Q. I am not talking about your customers, but about the 275? A. No, sir, we did not. Q. I wish you would please make up a list of those 275, giving the names of the theatres and their locations, and kindly send that to Mr. Caldwell. A. I will. Q. Are there any territorial limits to your agency? A. Not that I know of. Q. Do you receive1 instructions from anyone as to what cities you shall do business in? A. We require no instructions as to the cities we shall do business in. We use our judgment. We do not want to lose lime on films, where we can avoid it.