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 #:
000394
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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2844 Otto Haas, Direct Examination. Sometimes I would show a picture after it had been shown there just a day or two previous by my competitor, and sometimes he had one I had shown one day previous, and sometimes we ran one on the same day together. Q. Did this help or hurt the business? A. It hurts. Q. From what rental exchange was your competitor getting his supply of licensed motion pictures at that time? A. I can't remember. Q. You don't remember? A. No, sir. Q. Was it the same exchange from which you were getting yours? A. No, sir. Well, some of them were getting them from the same exchange? Q. Some were? A. Yes. Q. Some were getting from the Theatre Film Supply Exchange? A. Yes. Q. And others were getting from an exchange, the name of which you don't remember? A. I can't remember. Q. After you began to get your service from the General Film Company, was this situation changed with respect to being able to announce your programs in advance, and in respect to having conflict with your competitors? A. After the General got hold of the situation, I did not have any more conflicts by competitors, and I got a telegram previous to the day before using my films as to what I was going to get for the next day. Q. And what is the situation now? A. I get an advance program. Q. How far in advance do you get it? A. One week. Q. How long has it been possible to get such an advance program? A. I am not quite positive, but I think some time in May or June. I was not here at the time. Q. Do you advertise your program in advance? A. Sometimes I do. Q. You can do it if you wish? A. Yes, I can if I wish. Q. During the time that you have been in the motion picture exhibition business in Charlotte, have you been acquainted witli the prices that have been paid by your theatres for motion picture service? A. Yes, sir. Q. How do the prices that you were paying in the early part of 1910 to the Theatre Film Supply Exchange, compare with the prices you are now paying to the General Film Company? A. Comparatively spoken of, I am paying less now than I paid at that time.