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 #:
000184
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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2634 John Penman, Jr., Direct Examination. Q. How often did you do it? A. I averaged about once a week. Q. How long had you been doing that, up to six months ago? A. About six months, I suppose. Q. Have you observed whether or not the character and quality and artistic excellence of the licensed motion pictures have improved or deteriorated in the past two or three years? A. They have improved. Q. Is that your judgment of the situation? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you ever have any difficulty in getting licensed service? A. No, sir. Q. Are you solicited by the independents from time to time? A. Yes, sir; from the feature exchanges once in a while, they come around. Not very often. Q. What kind of projecting machines do you use? A. Powers, No. 5. Q. Have you used that kind since you have been in business? A. Yes, since I have been in the business. Mr. Grosvenor: No cross examination. Whereupon, at 4 : 00 o'clock P. M., on this January 5th, 1914, the hearings were adjourned until 11 o'clock A. M., January 6th, 1914, to be resumed at Hotel Statler, Cleveland, Ohio.