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 #:
000187
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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Oka L. BRAiiEY, Direct Examination. 263' your supply of licensed motion pictures? A. For the last several years, from the General Film Company at Detroit. Q. Before you began to secure your motion pictures from the General Film Company at Detroit, from what rental exchange or rental exchanges did you secure your supply of motion pictures? A. When I first opened the Princess Theatre six years ago, I secured the service from the Superior Film Supply Company of Toledo, and then, later — well, I have forgotten the name of the exchange. It was the Vaudette — The National Yaudette, of Detroit. Q. And were you still taking service from the National Yaudette Film Exchange at Detroit at the time it sold its property to the General Film Company? A. Yes. At that time — and I was also taking service at that time from the Kent Film Exchange at Toledo. I had two theatres at that time. Q. Prior to the arrival of the General Film Company in this field, did you find it possible to advertise a program for your theatres in advance? A. I never knew what I was to have until the films were delivered to me on the day they were to be exhibited. Q. Did you have any experience before the General Film Company began business in this territory, of advertising or attempting to advertise a program, and not being able to show it at the time designated in your advertisement? A. Xo, I cannot say that I did, because I never advertised anything that I did not know I was going to get, positively. Q. You knew, at that time, you could not advertise with certainty? A. Yes, sir. Q. After the General Film Company began doing business in this field, did you find it possible to announce a program in advance, and to advertise it? A. Yes, sir; always. A week in advance. Q. And have you been doing that since the General Film Company began serving your theatres? A. Yes, sir. Q. Mr. Braley, do you have any competitor in the immediate vicinity of any of your theatres, who is using the licensed service? A. None. Q. Do you have any competitors in the immediate vicinity of your theatres who are using unlicensed service? A. Yes, sir. Q. What theatres are using unlicensed service in competition with your theatres? A. The Alhambra.