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 #:
000296
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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274G Horace M. Thomas, Direct Examination. Q. What kind of theatres? A. Moving picture theatre, a vaudeville theatre, and a legitimate theatre. Q. Do you use moving pictures at any of your theatres? A. Two. At two of the three theatres, I use motion pictures. Q. What are their names? A. The Alladin at Springfield, and the Jefferson at Springfield. Q. What is the seating capacity of the Alladin? A. Four hundred and fifty. Q. What is the seating capacity of the Jefferson? A. Between fourteen and fifteen hundred. Q. How long have you had these houses? A. The Alladin about eight years, and the Jefferson, I built about three years ago. Q. What motion picture service do you use? A. General. Q. By General, do you mean service that you get from the General Film Company? A. Kansas City. Q. How long have you been using licensed motion pictures in these houses? A. Ever since I have been in the business. Q. Have you ever used unlicensed pictures? A. Yes, sir. Q. Any considerable length of time or intermittently? A. Intermittently. Only once. Q. From what rental exchange did you take service for the Alladin Theatre in 1909 and 1910? A. Swanson-Crawford, Yale, Western, and American Film Service. Q. Were you taking service from the American Film Service Exchange at the time the General Film Company purchased its property? A. No, sir; before. Q. With what exchange were you doing business at the time the General Film Company came into your field? A. Yale. Q. Did you go from the Yale Exchange to the General Film Company Exchange? A. Yes, sir. Q. During the time you were taking motion picture service from the Yale — what was the full name of that? A. Yale Film Exchange. Q. From the Yale Film Exchange, and from the other exchanges you have mentioned, were you able to select a program in advance, and to advertise it? A. No, sir. Q. What was the reason for your inability to do this? A. I think the film business then was in a chaotic state, and