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 #:
000575
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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H. M. Newsomel Cross Examination. 3017 Q. And in Memphis, Tennessee? A. Four licensed, and five unlicensed. Q. Did you regard the film rental business in the year 1910 as a stable business? A. The business was a gamble, more or less. Q. Did you feel relieved after you made the sale to the General Film Company? A. Yes, sir, very much. Q. You felt as if you were getting a burden off your hands? A. Yes, sir. Cross examination by Mr. Grosvenor: Q. How much did you pay Kleine for your business, in 1909? A. Ten thousand dollars. Q. And when you sold it a year later, you got how much? A. Fourteen thousand dollars. Q. Had you taken something out as profits in the meantime? A. No, sir; the business was losing money. Q. Had you drawn a salary? A. No, sir. Q. What percentage of the business done by you in the year or two that you ran the rental exchange was made up of the receipts for renting films? A. What percentage? Q. Yes. A. I don't quite understand. Q. What did your business consist of? A. What did the business consist of? Q. Yes. A. The exchange business? Q. I am talking about your business, Mr. Newsome. A. Suppose you ask that question again. Q. How much were your weekly receipts? A. Well, it fluctuated. Q. Well, give the limits? A. That would be pretty hard for me to remember that far back; that has been three or four years. Q. What made up your weekly receipts? Can you tell that? A. The film rentals. Q. Made up mostly of film rentals? A. Nearly all film rentals. We handled machines and supplies. Q. What per cent, of the total business which you did, approximately, consisted of these film rentals? A. The biggest part of the business was the film rental. Q. Ninety-five per cent.? A. Ninety per ceot. at least, I should think, yes, sir. Q, Those film rentals were paid for the films which you