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 #:
000333
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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N. II. Gibbons, Direct Examination. 2783 Thereupon, N. II. GIBBONS, the next witness produced * by the defendants, of lawful age, being first duly sworn by the Examiner, deposed as follows : Direct examination by Mr. Kingsley : Q. Where do you live? A. Lawrence, Kansas. Q. How long have you been a resident of Lawrence, Kansas? A. Well, I have been since 1908. Q. In what business are you engaged? A. In the motion picture exhibiting business. Q. How long have you been an exhibitor of motion pic 2 tures in Lawrence? A. Since November, 1908. Q. And do you own or operate a theatre there? A. I do. Q. More than one? A. Two at the present. Q. How long have you operated two theatres? A. I have operated one since 1908 and the other since September, 1911. Q. What theatre have you operated since 1908? A. The Aurora. Q. What is the seating capacity of the Aurora Theatre? A. Three hundred. Q. What is the name of the other theatre? A. The Grand. 3 Q. What is the seating capacity of the Grand? A. Three hundred and sixty to three hundred and seventy. Q. Mr. Gibbons, what kind of service do you use in your two theatres, the licensed or the unlicensed? A. Licensed. Q. How long have you used the licensed service in each of these houses, the Aurora and the Grand? A. Since the establishment of the Motion Picture Patents Company in the Aurora, and since the operation of the Grand. Q. From what exchange are you securing your service? A. From the General Film Company, Kansas City, Missouri. Q. From what exchange were you securing service for the Aurora Theatre in 1909 and in the early part of 1910, prior to the formation of the General Film Company, and before it began to operate in your field? A. The Yale Company. Q. And how long did you remain with the Yale Film Exchange? A. Until they were taken over by the General Film Company, or until the name was changed. I have been with the same company all the time. Q. How many theatres are there in Lawrence at the pres