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 #:
000332
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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2782 Jacob Warner, Direct Examination. Q. During the period that you have been conversant with the motion picture exhibition business, have you known the prices that were charged for motion picture service? A. To an extent. Q. Have you known of the prices that wrere charged at your own houses? A. Oh, yes. Q. Are you still familiar with that phase of your business? A. Yes, sir. Q. Now, Mr. Warner, what is the situation today with respect to the price that you pay for a motion picture service at the Lafayette Theatre as compared to the price that you paid in 1910? A. Percentage or actual price? Q. Actual prices? A. We paid $125, as near as I can recollect, at that time, for 12 reels. We are now receiving 21 reels for $50. Q. When did you pay the price of $125 for 12 reels to which you have referred? A. Somewhere from the time of — the latter part of 1909 to the early part of 1910. Of course, I cannot exactly remember the dates. Q. Was it prior to the advent of the General Film Company in this field? A. At any rate it was within a short time after. Q. Do you remember what price you were paying to the Yale Film Exchange for your service? A. $90. Q. How many reels did that comprise? A. At that time there was a certain price, and we divided it accordingly. For the service. That was our own price, really, at the time. Q. Was that a less price or a higher price than you were paying to the O. T. Crawford Exchange? A. A less price. Q. What had you been paying the O. T. Crawford Exchange? A. Anywhere from $95 to $110. Q. What projecting machines do you use? A. Motiograph. Q. Have you used any other? A. No, sir. Q. Do the independent exchanges solicit you for business? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do they promise you a complete program? A. Well, I cannot particularly say. Complete I guess as far as it is. Q. Do they offer you any inducements in the way of price? A. Yes. Mr. Grosvenor: No cross examination.