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 #:
000423
Language:
English
Collection:
Early Cinema and Government & Law
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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Charles O. Baumann, Direct Examination. 2873 Q. During that time, have you been connected with the distributing end of the business? A. Yes. Q. Have you, during that period, devoted yourself exclusively to the motion picture art? A. Yes. Q. Have you kept yourself posted regarding prices, regarding the development of the art, and regarding the demands of the public for novelties and artistic creations? A. Yes. Q. Have you been conversant with the growth of tin' business during that period, the increase in the number of subjects, the increase in the number of producers, {he increase in the number of exhibitors, and the general development which has marked the art? A. Yes. Q. Do you know at the present time, what independent programs are in the field? A. Yes. Q. How many independent unlicensed programs are in the field? I don't mean licensed. I mean the unlicensed. A. Four. Q. Will you tell us what they are? A. Mutual — Q. How many releases? A. Twenty-eight reels; Universal, 28 reels ; Exclusive Film Corporation, 18 reels ; Warner's Features, 12 reels. Q. In addition to the programs you have enumerated, are there a number of independent feature companies in the field? A. Yes. Q. Could you say approximately how many reels they are releasing per week? A. Fifty reels. Q. Fifty reels? A. Yes. Q. During your connection with the Empire Film Company, did you come in contact with exhibitors so as to know their needs? A. Yes. Q. And the kind of programs that they ought to have in order to attract the public? A. Yes. Q. What was your experience while you were connected with the Empire Film Exchange about coming in daily contact with exhibitors as to the necessity and desirability of two motion picture theatres operating in the same immediate neighborhood, being kept apart and free from conflicting programs? A. That was the general request from exhibitors. To be kept apart in the program. Q. Have you had any experience with conflicting programs, and by that I mean, have you had occasion to notice conflicts in the programs? A. During the F. S. A.