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)

Page scan 00046 from 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 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 6
Leaf #:
00046
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 12, 2024
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1 3078 Percival L. Waters, Cross Examination. Q. Did you introduce them to anybody7 except Mr. Kennedy, on this general subject? Mr. Kingsley : I object to the question, because the witness has answered that he introduced them as a personal matter. The Witness : I have introduced exchange men to a good many of the manufacturers and officers of the General Film Company. Mr. Grosvenor: Repeat the question to him. The question was read to the witness by the Examiner as follows: "Q. Did you introduce them to anybody except Mr. Kennedy, on this general subject''? The Witness: I don't recall introducing anybody to Mr. Kennedy on this particular subject. By Mr. Grosvenor: Q. Giving the term its ordinary significance, is it not true, Mr. Waters, that Mr. Kennedy was the big chief on this general matter of purchasing exchanges? A. I don't just get that term "big chief." I have only heard it referred to in connection with Indians and Tammany Hall. Q. You are unable to understand what the term could mean, then? A. In connection with Mr. Kennedy, or any officer of the company, yes. Q. Now, you deny on your direct examination, page 29(17, Vol. V, having enumerated the several offices which Mr. Kennedy held at that time, and which Mr. Fox testified you did enumerate. Whether or not those offices were enumerated, it is true that Mr. Kennedy was at that time the President of the General Film Company, was he not? A. Yes. Q. And the President of the Biograph Company? A. I think so. Q. And connected with some other company? A. A good many other companies, I believe. Q. And connected with the Motion Picture Patents Company? A. Yes, sir.