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 #:
000406
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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285G Otto P. Hall, Cross Examination. have changed hands or that the managers or owners have sold out or gone into other businesses? A. Yes, sir, practically all. Cross examination by Mr. Grosvenor: Q. Did it ever happen to yon that von were showing licensed pictures, and that your license was cut off? A. Yes, sir. Q. Where was that? A. Jacksonville. Q. And was it at this theatre? A. At the Princess Theatre, while I was running the Kinetograph service. When the General Film Company absorbed the Kinetograph Com pany the General Film Company cut me off. Q. The Kinetograph Company was a company that was doing business in licensed pictures for a while in Jacksonville in competition with the General Film Company? A. Yes, sir. Q. And it has now gone out of business? A. Yes, sir. Re-examination by Mr. Kingslby: Q. After you were cut off what did you do? A. I made application to the General Film Company for service again. Q. Did you get it? A. No, sir. Q. What did you do then? A. Took the independent service. Q. And you continued to run the independent service then? A. Yes, sir. Q. Until you left the management of the theatre? A. Yes, sir. Recross examination by Mr. Grosvenor: Q. How soon after that did you give up the management of the theatre? A. Possibly three months. Q. Is the theatre now showing the independent service? A. The theatre is now showing the licensed service supplied by the General Film Company. Re-examination by Mr. Kingsley: Q. Did you find any difficulty in gelling a complete program at the time you changed back to the unlicensed service? A. No, sir.