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 #:
000483
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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Anna S. Matthews, Direct Examination. 2933 2. Name of Theatre Address No Street — Avenue. Name of Owner Number of Seats Distance from your Theatre 3. Name of Theatre Address No Street — Avenue. Name of Owner Number of Seats Distance from your Theatre 4. Name of Theatre Address No Street — Avenue. Name of Owner Number of Seats Distance from your Theatre Printed at side of above exhibit : Send this sheet with added information to Patents Company by return mail. Use enclosed envelope. By Mr. Kingsley : Q. How many new theatres did you get from the checking of October, 1910? A. I cannot give the exact figures procured from that one checking, but including that checking and the time intervening between that and the January, 1911, checking, we procured approximately eighteen hundred and twenty-five. Q. How many new theatres, approximately, did you get from the checking of January, 1911? A. Approximately, four hundred and forty-five. Q. How many new theatres approximately did you get from the checking of July, 1911? A. Six hundred and ten. Q. These answers are approximations? A. Yes, sir. Q. How many new theatres did you get from the checking of December, 1911? A. Approximately, five hundred and ninety. Q. How many new theatres did you get from the checking of January, 1912? A. Approximately, six hundred and fifty-five.