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 #:
000567
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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II . M. Newsome, Direct Examination. 3009 Thereupon H. M. NEWSOME, the next witness pro * duced by the defendants, of lawful age, being first duly sworn by the Examiner, deposed as follows: Direct examination by Mr. Caldwell : Q. Where do you live? A. Birmingham, Alabama. Q. And in what business are you engaged? A. I am in the moving picture business. Q. What branch of the moving picture business? A. As an exhibitor. Q. And in what business were you engaged in the year 2 1909, and in the year 1910? A. Well, I was in the film renting business, and also the exhibiting business. Q. What was the name of your film rental exchange? A. The Birmingham Film Supply Company. Q. And was that a corporation? A. Yes, sir. Q. Organized under the laws of Alabama? A. Organized under the laws of Alabama. Q. What was your connection with that corporation? A. President of the concern. Q. To what extent were you the owner of the stock? A. I practically owned it all. 3 Q. When did that concern start in the film rental business in Birmingham, Alabama? A. In June, 1909. I bought the business in June, 1909. Q. From whom did you buy the business? A. George Kleine. Q. Do you mean by that, that you bought an exchange formerly conducted in Birmingham by George Kleine? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you recall the name of the exchange? A. I believe it was the Kleine Optical Company, operated as the Kleine Optica] Company — by George Kleine, of Chicago, whatever the name of his concern was. It was the Kleine Optical Company, I am quite sure. Q. After you bought that exchange did you apply to the Patents Company for a license? A. Yes, sir. (). Did you obtain it? A. Yes, sir. Q. About when? A. I applied in June, and got a license right away. Q. What other exchanges were you competing with, if