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 #:
000335
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. H. Gibbons, Cross Examination. 2785 Q. And do you find that the exchange, the General Film Exchange, co-operates with you in arranging a program to your satisfaction? A. They do. Q. During the period you have been an exhibitor in Lawrence have you been familiar with the price of motion picture service in that town? A. I know what I pay. Q. How do the prices that you pay now for the licensed motion picture service compare with the prices that you paid in the latter part of 1909 and the early part of 1910 when you were taking service from the Yale Film Exchange? A. Well, I pay practically the same amount of money for the service. Q. What service did you use in the Aurora Theatre in 1909 and the early part of 1910, and what did you pay for it? A. I was using two reels to a program, changed three times a week. Q. That would be about six reels a week? A. Yes, sir. I paid from forty-five to fifty-five dollars. Q. What service are you now using in your Aurora Theatre, and what do you pay for it? A. I am using twelve reels, four to a program, changed three times a week and pay forty dollars. Q. Are you solicited from time to time by representatives of the independent exchanges? A. I have been. Q. Do they offer you any inducements in the way of price? A. They have. Q. Do they offer you a complete program? A. Yes, sir. Q. What kind of projecting machine do you use in your theatre? A. At the present I am using a Powers 6 A. Q. What have you been using? A. The different models of Edison, and the Motiograph. Q. Any others? A. Two models of Edison and the Motiograph, and a Powers No. 6 and a Powers No. 6A. Cross examination by Mr. Grosvenor: Q. These films which you display daily are shipped to you from the branch of the General Film Company at Kansas City, Missouri? A. They are. Q. Your place pi business is in Lawrence, Kansas? A. Yes, sir, forty miles from Kansas City. Q. And when you are through with them at the end of each day you ship them back to Kansas City? A. Yes, sir.