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 #:
000577
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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Anna S. Matthews, Direct Examination. 3019 sir; they are the best theatres in the towns where they are located. Q. Is there any man in your vicinity, that is, in your towns, doing an exhibition business that is as successful as yours, that is to say, who owns six theatres, large theatres? A. No, sir; there is nobody else in the towns where I am that has six theatres. Thereupon, ANNA S. MATTHEWS, being recalled for further direct examination, deposed : Direct examination continued by Mr. Kingsley: Q. I show Defendants' Exhibit No. 148, containing list of the cities, towns and villages in Georgia checked by W. W. R. Greene, in December, 1913, with reference to the motion picture theatres. Do you know if these towns are all included in the territory of any exchange manager? A. Yes, sir. Q. What exchange manager? A. William C. Brandon. Q. Have you compared the result of Mr. Greene's checking with the checking of July, 1913, carried out under your supervision and direction, at the office of the Motion Picture Patents Company? A. Yes. Q. Have you checked the identical figures shown in Defendants' Exhibit No. 148 against your office list? A. Yes, sir. Q. How does Mr. Greene's checking compare with that checking of those towns shown in Defendants' Exhibit 148? A. It shows a slight decrease. Mr. Greene reports one hundred and three theatres exhibiting motion pictures, and according to our records there were one hundred and eleven. Q. Have you made an estimate based on the result of Mr. Greene's checking as to the number of moving picture theatres in the territory covered by tin1 Atlanta Exchange, and its branches, of which William C. Brandon is the manager? A. Yes, sir. Q. William C. Brandon testified in this case, at page 2380, Vol. IV, that there were six hundred and twenty motion picture houses in the territory served by the Atlanta branch of the General Film Company, and its branches, of which he is manager. I low does that number compare with