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 #:
000153
Language:
English
Collection:
Government & Law and Early Cinema
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. 2G03 Q. What is your connection with them? A. I am a Director and stockholder. Q. Are you the principal owner? A. No, sir. Q. Well, are you an executive officer? A. No, sir. Q. Do you go to the offices of either of these companies every day and have a desk there, in order to supervise the business of the companies? A. No — I go to the offices every day, but I do not have a desk. Q. You are not directly in charge of the management? A. No, sir — in charge of the management? Well, the managers really report to me every day. I go over any matters that come up. They always take them up with me every day. Q. Do they report to you the number of theatres they are supplying? A. They supply a weekly report to me. Yes, sir. In writing. Q. These theatres, as I understand, are located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and some of them in Ohio and Maryland? A. No, sir; not in Maryland. Q. None in Maryland? A. I don't believe so. Q. Are any in Ohio? A. Yes, there is a few in Ohio, but a very few. Q. And any in New York? A. No, sir. Q. At the time you sold out in October, 1910, you knew, did you not, that the General Film Company was acquiring a large number of the rental exchanges in the United States? A. I knew they had acquired some. I don't know how many. Q. You knew they had acquired a number in different parts of the country? A. Yes. Q. You knew also, that the various licensed manufacturers were interested in the General Film Company? A. Yes, sir. Q. Had the General Film Company established a branch at Pittsburgh at that time? A. No, sir. Q. If the General Film Company had established a branch at Pittsburgh at that time instead of buying you out, wouldn't that company have had a decided advantage in doing business, over your company, by reason of its greater resources, and the fact that the ten licensed manufacturers were interested in it?