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 #:
000192
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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2(U2 Ora L. Braley, Cross Examination. chine? A. I would not say positively, but, I believe, from the Superior Film Supply Company. Q. It had been purchased outright? A. Yes, sir. Q. After the Patents Company was formed, did your theatre pay $2.00 a week royalty, for using the licensed service? A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you ever tried to show independent pictures, that is, a regular independent service, in your theatres, the Princess or the Royal? A. No, sir; I never have. Q. Why not? A. I have always preferred the licensed service. I have always preferred the pictures of the licensed service. Q. You said that you and another theatre had some trouble before the General Film Company was organized, by reason of conflicting programs? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did that trouble continue up to the formation of the General Film Company? A. No. They went and took independent service before that time. Q. Before the General Film Company was organized? A. No. They were taking the licensed service at the time the General Film Company was organized. Q. But the trouble that you had had over conflicting service had ceased some time before the General Film Company was organized? A. No, sir. It ceased at that time. Q. Then, what became of this other theatre with which you were having trouble? A. They continued with the General Film Company for some time. A matter of several months. And then they took unlicensed service, the independent service. Q. Which of the theatres using licensed service in Toledo are nearest to the Princess and the Royal? A. There are no theatres using licensed service that are near the Princess and the Royal. The Princess and the Royal are using the licensed service — and the Colonial — they are the only downtown theatres that are. Q. How far do you have to go from the Princess Theatre and the Royal, to find a licensed theatre? A. Ten blocks. Q. How far is the Alhambra from the Princess and the Royal? A. It is a block and a half from the Princess, and about two blocks from the Royal. Q. How far is the Hippodrome? A. The Hippodrome is probably — oh, 50 feet further away.