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 #:
000377
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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Max Milder, Direct Examination. 2827 General -Film Company? A. There is about forty of them * in New Orleans alone. We have two in Mobile, a eonple in Beaumont, Texas, two in Port Arthur, one in Natchez, Mississippi; two in Pensacola, Florida. All the towns between Mobile and New Orleans, such as Gulfport, Biloxi; we have one in Pass Christian — well, we have one, but they mix them there. They use both programs. That is not ours any more than the other people's. Ocean Springs we have one. Pascagoula, one; Bay St. Louis, one. And the rest are distributed throughout the State of Louisiana. That is practically the outside territory. Q. With the exception of the theatres you have named in towns outside of the State of Louisiana, are the remainder of the theatres served by you, in Louisana? A. Yes. Q. And did you say that forty of those were in New Orleans? A. We have practically forty houses in New Orleans that we are supplying with service. Q. Now, throughout that territory, how is the business divided, to the best of your judgment, between the unlicensed and the licensed exchanges? A. I think that the business is about evenly divided between the independent o exchanges and the licensed exchanges. We possibly handle more business than any one individual exchange of the independents, but we are buying the double program. Q. How many individual exchanges of independents are there in that district? A. The Mutual have an office, the Universal have an office, and in addition to that — Q. Tell us where. In what place? A. The Universal Film Exchange operate an office in New Orleans, and the Mutual Company operate an office there. In addition to that, there are seven or eight feature film companies in New Orleans who handle business in that section of the 4 country just the same as we do. Q. Are there any large houses in New Orleans which use the unlicensed service exclusively? A. Two. There are four large houses in the City of New Orleans. Two of them are using licensed, and two are using independent service. Q. In your territory, are there any towns in which the only service in the unlicensed service? A. Yes, sir. Q. Will you tell us what those towns are, and also tell us something about the theatres in those towns? A. The