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 #:
000180
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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2630 John Penman, Jr., Direct Examination. Q. How long have you had this theatre? A. About three years. Q. And you sold a while ago the only theatre which you had in which you were showing the other pictures, the independent pictures? A. Yes, sir. Q. Which is the larger of those two theatres, the one which you have retained, or the other one? A. The one I have retained. Q. And that is the more profitable? A. Yes, sir. Q. You feel that it is necessary, in order to have a profitable theatre, to show the licensed pictures in your house? A. Well, I never looked at it in that light. I have just been using them right along. I had no object in changing them. Q. Are features an important part of the program? A. They are getting to be that. Thereupon, JOHN PEXMAN, Jr., the next witness produced by the defendants, of lawful age, being first duly sworn by the Examiner, deposed: Direct examination by Mr. Ejngsley: Q. Where do you live? A. Charleroi, Pa. Q. How long have you lived there? A. Three years. Q. Do you own a theatre there? A. I lease a building there. Q. Do you own the amusement that is carried on in that theatre? A. Yes, sir. Q. What is the name of that theatre? A. Lyric Theatre. Q. What is its seating capacity? A. Two hundred and fifty-six. Q. Is the Lyric Theatre a motion picture theatre? A. Yes, sir. Q. Prior to operating the Lyric Theatre, were you engaged in the motion picture business anywhere else? A. Yes, sir. Q. And where? A. Coile Theatre at Charleroi, the Lyric Theatre in Duquesne, the Grand Theatre in Duquesne, and another theatre in Duquesne.