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 #:
000576
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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3018 H. M. Newsome, Cross Examination. sent out from your place of business to theatres located in the various cities? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did yon send these tilms out from Birmingham to cities outside of Alabama? A. Yes, sir. Q. Please name some of the cities? A. Well, we sent some to Atlanta, Georgia. Q. Name the States. A. Just the States? Q. Yes. A. We covered three or four adjoining States — Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, and some in Louisiana. Q. You say that before naming a price, Kennedy went into his private office? A. Yes, sir. Q. When he came back, did he bring any papers? A. No, sir. Q. But just named the figure to you? A. Yes, sir. Q. He named no figure until he went into his private office? A. No, sir. Well, I suppose he went into his private office. He went out of the office we were in, and I suppose he went into his private office. Q. Did he state whether or not he had consulted any papers or memorandum? A. No, sir. Q. Yon say your manager wanted yon to use the independent service? A. Yes, sir. Q. He didn't own the business? A. No, sir; he had no interest in it. Q. And yon, as the owner of the business, decided not to use the independent service? A. Yes, sir. Q. Is that right? A. Yes, sir. Q. What service do these six theatres that yon own, use? A. Now? Q. Yes. A. Licensed pictures. Q. They are all licensed theatres? A. Yes, sir. Q. And how long have they been licensed theatres? A. Always have been licensed. Q. Yon felt it was more profitable to display the licensed pictures than the independent pictures? A. Yes, sir. Q. And in your judgment, the licensed pictures enabled yon to make your business a more profitable and successful business? A. Yes, sir. Q. That is the reason you have displayed them? A. That is the principal reason, yes, sir. Q. Now, these six theatres you own are among the larger theatres in the towns in which they are located? A. Yes,