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 #:
000497
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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Warren R. Palmer, Direct Examination. 2943 operating? Where were you doing business? A. Principally in western New York. Q. You had customers, of course, in Rochester? A. In Rochester. Q. In Buffalo? A. In Buffalo. Q. And in Syracuse? A. In Syracuse. Q. And the other towns in that section of the State? A. Yes. Albany. Northern New York towns. Q. What were the conditions in the exchange business in that territory during that time? A. The conditions of the business were rather demoralized. The prices were very low. We had no way of controlling the credits of our various theatres that we served, and the business was not very profitable. Q. Did you lose much on account of bad debts among your customers? Mr. Grosvenor: Objected to as leading in form. The Witness : We did. By Mr. Caldwell: Q. Were the exhibitors with whom you dealt, for the most part, financially responsible? Mr. Grosvenor : Same objection. The Witness : No, they were not financially responsible. By Mr. Caldwell: Q. Did you or did you not lose much money on account of bad debts? A. We lost a considerable amount. Mr. Grosvenor: I object to that answer as giving the opinion and conclusion of the witness, in stating "a considerable amount." By Mr. Caldwell: Q. Was there much price-cutting at that time? A. A