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 #:
000500
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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1 2946 Warejejn R. Palmer, Cross Examination. Q. Did you remain in their employ after you sold out? A. No. Q. Well, had your exchange, prior to the sale to the General Film Company been making or losing money? A. It had never made any money. It had always lost it. Q. Were you satisfied with the price which you received? A. We were. Q. At that time did you regard the exchange business as a stable business? A. We always regarded it as a very hazardous business. Cross Examination by Mr. Grosvenor: Q. Mr. Palmer, the General Film Company has not paid you the entire amounts which you are to receive for your property? A. Not yet. Q. How much of the deferred pa}rnients remains unpaid ? A. About |3,000, I believe. Q. You commenced doing a film rental business in 1908? A. 1908. Q. Who were the owners of the business? A. It was a copartnership owned by Mr. R. M. Mock and myself. Q. How much did you put into it? A. We started with no capital. We rented film from various exchanges in New York, and sub-rented it in the western New York territory. Q. Then, as you gradually expanded and got a little more money, you expanded some more? A. That is the idea. Q. And gradually built up the business? A. Built up a business very gradually, and finally did put in some real capital. Q. How much did you put in? A. About a thousand dollars. Q. In July, 1910, you had been doing business about two years? A. About two years. Q. And in that two years, this business which you have described as an unprofitable business, had grown from nothing, to be of a value of $20,000, is that right? A. It had, yes. Q. Have you made many ventures in the business world that have been equally successful in two years? A. This business venture was not successful.