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 #:
000283
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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Morris A. Choynski, Direct Examination. 2733 Q. Have you ever used it in the Palace before that? A. Not the Universal. Q. What were you using in the Palace prior to contracting for the Universal? A. I used the Mutual program. Q. How long did you use the Mutual? A. I used the Mutual for about five months. Q. x\nd prior to the time five months ago when you began to use the Mutual, what service were you using? A. General Film. Q. How long have you been taking General Film service? A. I have been using General Film service since 1905. Q. And by General Film service, you mean the products of the licensed producers? A. Of the licensed producers. So-called licensed film. Q. From what rental exchange were you taking licensed motion pictures when you were exhibiting them? A. From the American Film Service. Q. And what is the American Film Service? Is that a branch of the General Film Company? A. Yes, the American Film Service is a branch of the General Film Company at 419 South Wabash. Q. Before you took the service from the American Film Exchange, from what exchange were you securing your motion pictures? A. From George Kleine. Q. How long did you take motion pictures from George Kleine before the General Film Company began to do business in this field? A. I took from the American before the General. I took from George Kleine for about five or six months in 190G. Then I went to the American Film Service. They had started in. There was no General Film Company then. And I have been continually with them ever since. Q. So that you were with them before the exchange was operated by the General Film Company at all? A. Yes. I owned three houses at that time, and took from the American branch continuously. Q. Going back to the time when you were securing the motion picture service from the American Film Service Exchange, and before it was operated by the General Film Company, do you recall whether or not you were able to secure and announce and advertise a program in advance? A. No, we could not get an advance program. What you would call advance. Q. What were your difficulties at that time? A. Why,