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 (1914)

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:
1914
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 5
Leaf #:
000132
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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2582 James B. Clark, Direct Examination. Play Company take from the independent manufacturers? A. Eighteen. Q. What is the source of supply? A. The Mutual Film Corporation. Q. Do they supply a complete program to the exhibitors who patronize the Pittsburgh Photo-Play Company? A. Yes, sir. Q. What is the program that you furnish them, how many reels per day? A. Three. Q. From what source of supply does the Famous Players Exchange secure its motion pictures? A. From the Famous Players Film Company, New York. Q. How many reels of motion pictures per week do you secure from that source? A. We secure thirty per year — they don't have a weekly — They have another source of supply, the All Star Feature Corporation, of New York, which makes twelve. Q. You mean by that that the Famous Players are supplying your exchange with forty -two reels a year? A. A year, yes, sir. Q. These forty-two reels consist of what? A. So-called feature films. Q. When you say "reels" do you mean forty-two subjects instead of forty -two reels? A. Yes, sir, I do. Q. How many reels on an average do each one of these forty-two subjects contain? A. From three to six. Q. How many subjects in the aggregate does the Famous Players Exchange secure in a year? A. Forty-two. Q. And they average how many reels per subject? A. Three to six. They do not have any regular number. Q. Do you have a special territory or a restricted territory in which to handle these special features? A. Yes, sir. Q. Of what does that territory consist? A. It consists of Western Pennsylvania — you mean the Famous Players? Q. Yes? A. Western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. Q. Do you have the exclusive right to supply this service to the exhibitors in the territory you have outlined? A. Yes, sir. Q. Can the exhibitor get this service from any other source than your exchange in the territory mentioned? A. No, sir. Q. Do you pay a price for this special service based upon