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)

Page scan 000433 from 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 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 #:
000433
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 12, 2024
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Chaki.es O. Baumann, Direct Examination. 2883 (2 William Sterner? A. William Steiner. Q. Was that formerly a licensed exchange? A. Doing business under the name of Imperial Film Exchange. <}. I call your attention to William EL Swanson, St. Louis Film Company, 200 North Tth Street, St, Louis, Missouri. Do you know who owned or operated that exchange? A. William Swanson. Q. Was that formerly a licensed exchange? A. Yes. Q. Did it do business under the same name? A. Yes. (>. I call your attention to W. EL Swanson & Company, 160 Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois. Do you know who owned or operated that exchange? A. William EL Swanson. Q. Was that formerly a licensed exchange? A. Yes. Q. I call your attention to Victor Film Service, Seneca and Pearl Streets, Buffalo, New York; Victor Film Service Prospect and Huron Streets, Cleveland, Ohio. Do you know who owned or operated those two exchanges? A. P. A. Powers. Q. With what exchanges had Mr. Powers been connected prior to this time? A. Buffalo Talking Machine Company, or Syracuse Talking Machine Company. I don't know who else. Q. Was it a licensed exchange? A. Licensed exchange. Q. In asking you these questions regarding the ownership or operation of these exchanges, have you been answering with regard to the time set out in this advertisement, July 23rd, 1910? A. Speaking from that time out.