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 #:
000502
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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2948 Warren R. Palmer, Cross Examination. hundred dollars; a man by the name of Blumensteil put in $500. Q. And that was all the cash that was put into the business? A. As well as I remember now. Q. How did you happen to go down to see Kennedy and Waters? A. Because I wanted a license from the Motion Picture Patents Company. Q. Well, I may not have made my question clear. How did you happen to go down and see Kennedy and Waters about selling out your business to the General Film Company? A. Mr. Waters called Mr. Mock up over the long distance telephone on June 19th, and asked us if Ave could be down to New York the next day, and we subsequently went down the next day. Q. Did Waters ask you to come to New York? A. Yes. Q. Did he say why? A. I did not answer the 'phone. I don't remember whether Mock told me or not. Q. What was the purpose of your going to New York on June 20th? A. We knew, or thought we knew, what the purpose wras. That the General Film Company would purchase our exchange. Q. And that was the first time, that is, when Waters called up on June 19th, that the subject had been broached between you and the General Film Company? A. Yes. Q. You knew the General Film Company was owned by the various licensed manufacturers, did you not? A. Yes. Q. And you knew that it contemplated going into the rental business on a large scale? A. Yes. Q. And you knew that it had purchased some exchanges in New York at that time? A. No, I did not know that. Q. Well, you knew that it had entered upon business? A. Yes. Q. Did you also know that the Patents Company had cancelled various licenses in the Summer of 1910? A. I knew that they had cancelled one license. Q. And whose license was that? A. I believe it was the Actograph Company. Q. What is your business today? A. I am not occupied. Q. Where do you live? A. Lester Manor, Virginia.