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 000442 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 #:
000442
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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2892 Charles O. Baumann, Redirect Examination. Q. At page 2873 of the record, in response to my questions yesterday, yon said that the Mutual was releasing twentyeight reels, the Universal, twenty-eight reels, and the Exclusive Film Corporation, eighteen reels, Warner's Features, twelve reels, and the other independents, approximately fifty reels? A. Yes. Q. In making that reply, did you mean that those were separate and distinct reels, and that there were no duplications of subjects? A. No duplication of subjects. Q. At the time yon sold the Empire Film Exchange, did you consider the exchange business a stable business, or subject to fluctuations and uncertainties? A. Uncertainty. Tin* Witness: I have just telephoned to get the date of the sale of the Empire to the Mutual, and I can't say positively myself that it was on the 25th of July, 1912, but I have that information from the attorneys. Whereupon, at 3 : 30 P. M., on this Wednesday, February 4th, 1914, the hearing was adjourned.