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 #:
000513
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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Charles L. Wortiiingtox, Cross Examination. 2959 leaving a card at all. Naturally, going in to talk to a man, you would leave the card. I used to go in and ask them where they were getting service. If they said they were getting from the Greater New York, I would not have anything more to say to them. Not in the way of business, at least. Q. Just exchanged gossip? A. No. I would more than likely talk to them about how their business was, and what the prospects were. But not in the way of soliciting business whatever. Q. Did they ever mention this subject of the cancellation of the Greater New York license, and the pending litigation between the Greater New York and the General Film Company? A. I don't remember of them doing so, no, sir. Q. Had you been in the film business before February, 1913? A. No, sir. Q. What had been your line of business? A. Aviation. Not flying, myself, but in the business end of it. Q. And you talked aviation with the theatre people, I suppose? A. Well, no, I don't believe I did. That hardly would interest them. Q. Are you with the General Film Company today? A. Yes, sir. Whereupon, at 4 o'clock P. M., on this Wednesday, the 25th of February, 1914, the hearings are adjourned until Monday, March 9th, 1911, at 10:30 oVclock A. M., at Room 159, Hotel Manhattan, New York City.