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 #:
000145
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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James B. Clark, Direct Examination. 2595 burgh Calcium Light Company's property to the General Film Company? A. I think it was about three months. Q. During that period did you increase the prices to any exhibitor? A. No, sir. Q. Since that time have you purchased any theatre which was getting service from the General Film Company at the time you were in management of its business here? A. Purchase any theatre? Q. Yes? A. No, I believe not. Q. How many theatres have you now using the licensed service? A. Five. Q. Were any of these five theatres using licensed service at the time you were managing the business of the General Film Company? A. Only one. Q. Were you familiar with the price to that theatre at that time? A. Yes, sir. Q. Has the price been increased or diminished since that time? A. The price was increased, but the service was changed. Q. So that, it was a different price for a different service? A. Yes, sir. Q. What kind of projecting machines do you use, Mr. Clark? A. Powers, Motiograph, and Edison. Q. What kind did you handle or use when you were running the licensed exchange here in Pittsburgh? A. The same three. I believe we handle the Simplex machines now too. They were not made then. Q. You have already testified that the price of motion pictures to the exhibitor is governed by the age? A. Yes, sir. Q. And when you say that the price of motion pictures to the exhibitor is governed by the age, do you mean the physical age of the motion picture, or the time it has been released? A. The time that it has been released. Q. When you sell motion picture service to the exhibitor do you quote him a lump sum for the whole program? A. Yes, sir. Q. And what does an ordinary program consist of, by that I mean, how many subjects? A. Three, in this territory. Q. In furnishing such a program do you endeavor to give a balanced program? A. Yes, sir.