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 #:
000280
Language:
English
Collection:
Early Cinema and Government & Law
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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2730 Thomas A. Brown, Cross Examination. rials. Is there any difference in the price for the regular releases of the same age to you? A. To me from my exchange? Q. No. To yon from the General Film Company? A. Well, that would be from my exchange, of course. Q. Yes. A. Any difference in price? Q. Yes. A. Well, it is rather hard to answer the question the way you are putting it, because it is understood, as I said before, that we pay so much per week with the understanding that we receive so many Edisons, so many Vltagraphs, and so forth. We have it understood — Q. Isn't it a fact that you pay the same thing for the regular releases of the same age which are not specials, of each of the different manufacturers? A. You see, we get the same number of each manufacturer's each week, and we pay the same amount of money in the regular service for it of course, but as I explained before, if they went substituting Essanay when we had a Vitagraph coming, a two-reel feature Sunday, we certainly would be entitled to some allowance. Q. How many reels do you get a week? A. Forty-two. Q. How many of those are Edison? A. One regular Edison and we are getting one two-reel multiple reel. Q. How many Essanay? A. One multiple reel, and one single reel. Q. Does it ever happen that you get two Edison reels one week and three Edison reels the next week, or one Edison reel the first week? A. Three Edison? No, not except in the case of a miss out. In case the film is burned up, or in case a train is delayed or something, they put in a substitute, but they would make an allowance if they did much of that. Q. Do you get the same number of reels of each manufacturer without change, each week? A. As near as possible, yes. Q. I am not asking you as near as possible — A. What T mean by that is, as they release them. A certain number every week. Each manufacturer. And of course I get them as they are released, you know. It is understood that I get eight multiple reels a week in addition to my single reels. Q. Now, try and answer the question, yes or no, wit