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 #:
000146
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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2596 James B. Clark, Direct Examination. Q. What do you mean by a "balanced program?" A. Well, a comedy, and probably a western picture, and a drama, in order to vary the program. Q. Would it be feasible in making up this program to distinguish between the different pictures as to merit and desirability, and then fix a definite value upon each picture, and carry out the resulting bookkeeping required? A. No, sir, I don't think so. Q. Do you find it more feasible to furnish the program in the way you are now furnishing it? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you find that exhibitors prefer the pictures of one producer over the pictures of another producer, even when they are of the same age? A. Yes, sir, to a certain extent. Q. When you refer to the age of the motion picture what do you mean? A. Why, the age is based on the beginning, at the release date. Q. And by that you mean the number of days it has been on actual exhibition before various audiences? A. Yes, sir. Q. In referring to the age of a motion picture, do you refer to a copy, or to a subject, which has been on exhibition? A. To the subject, Q. If a reel has not been in service at all, though the subject has been released, does the value diminish as the release age increases? A. Yes, I think it does. Q. When an exhibitor selects a motion picture at your exchange, or at one of the exchanges under your supervision, does he pay any attention to the physical aspect or condition of the reel? A. Yes. Q. Do they, as a rule, see the reel at all? A. On exhibition, on the screen? Q. No, I mean before they take it away, the program? A. They look at the end of it when you hand it to them. Q. Rut as to running it off on a screen, they don't do anything of that sort? A. No, sir. Q. They rely entirely upon the exchange? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was the price of the motion picture service determined in 190S by the date of the release? A. Yes, sir. Q. Has any other rule for the fixing of the value of the motion picture service been in effect of which you are aware? A. No, sir. Q. Does the same rule prevail in the licensed exchanges