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 #:
000579
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. 3021 Q. If the same ratio of difference exists in all of the territory covered by the service of the Atlanta branch of the General Film Company, and its two branches, what would be the number of motion picture theatres therein? A. Eight hundred and eighty-four. Q. What was the percentage of decrease shown by Greene's checking in Georgia in comparison with yours? A. About seven per cent, decrease. Q. I show you Defendants' Exhibit No. 150, containing a list of the cities, towns and villages in Ohio, checked by W. W. R. Greene, in January, 1911, with reference to motion picture theatres. 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, sir. Q. Have you checked the identical towns shown in Defendants' Exhibit 150 against your office list? A. Yes, sir. Q. How does Mr. Greene's checking compare with your checking of these figures shown in Defendants' Exhibit 150? A. According to Mr. Greene's checking there were two hundred and twenty-two theatres exhibiting motion pictures, and according to the July checking there were only twTo hundred and twenty-one. Q. What is the percentage of increase shown by Mr. Greene's checking in Ohio, in comparison with your checking made in July, 1913? A. One-half of one per cent, increase. Q. Have you prepared a statement showing an analysis of the difference between July and December, 1913, in the checking of towns in Georgia, investigated by W. W. R. Greene? A. Yes, sir. Q. Have you it with you? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you prepare this yourself? A. Yes, I prepared it. Mr. Kingsley: I offer it in evidence. Mr. Grosvexor: I object to it as unintelligible. The paper produced by the witness and offered in evidence by counsel for defendants is marked by the Examiner, "Defendants' Exhibit No. 151," and is as follows :