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 #:
000151
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, Cross Examination. 2G01 as a thing you hoped could be accomplished by forming an association? A. No, sir; it was not. Q. Well, you attempted to accomplish that immediately after the formation of the Association, did you not? A. No, it was some time afterwards. Just how long, I could not state. Q. The Biograph people refused to co-operate with the Film Service Association and the other manufacturers in February, 190S, is that not true? Mr. Kingsley : I object to that as calling for a conclusion, as to what the Biograph Company may have done, and being beyond the knowledge of the witness. The Witness : Well, I don't know. Mr. Grosyenor: Read the question to the witness. The Examiner repeats the question to the witness, as follows : "Q. The Biograph people refused to co-operate with the Film Service Association and the other manufacturers in February, 1908, is that not true?" The Witness: I cannot say whether it is true or not. I don't remember any such circumstances. By Mr. Grosyenor : Q. Well, didn't the members of the Film Service Association, the rental exchanges, agree to buy film only from the Association of manufacturers and importers who formed the so-called Edison licensees? A. I believe so, yes, sir. Q. Did the Biograph Company become one of the Edison licensees? A. I don't know. Q. Don't you know, Mr. Clark, that warfare began right away, in February, 1908, between the Biograph people and the Edison people, that is the Edison licensees, because the Biograph Compam^ did not join in with the others? Mr. Kingsley: I object to the question as calling for a conclusion of the witness as to the reasons which mav have caused this eon diet between the Bio