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 000515 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 #:
000515
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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Alfred Weiss, Direct Examination. 3367 Q. You may state whether or not you saw or had any communication with Mr. Waters subsequent to this talk with Mr. Wright. Mr. Kingsley : Objected to as leading in form. The Witness: About a week after that Mr. Waters called me up on the telephone. By Mr. Grosvenor : Q. Which Mr. Waters was that? A. Mr. P. L. Waters, General Manager of the General Film Company. And he asked me, "Weiss, do you want to do business with us?'' And I told him, "Well, I don't know, I may/' He said, "You had better come down to the office at No. 10 Fifth Avenue and see me." And I went down there, and Mr. Waters took me into another room, and I met Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Bcrst there, and Mr. Kennedy asked me that day, he said, "Well, Mr. Weiss, how much do you want for your exchange?'' And I was not in a position to name him any figures, I did not care to name any figures, and Mr. Kennedy went over to some shelf or closet or safe, or whatever it was, I don't remember now, and he had some papers, and he took the papers, and showed them to Mr. Berst, and a couple of minutes after, Mr. Kennedy told me, "Mr. Weiss, we offer you for your office, $31,000.'' We will pay you one week's film rental, Ave will pay you for all the new supplies you have on hand, and we will give you out of the $31,000, $10,000 preferred stock for which we will pay you seven per cent, interest.'' That was the proposition Mr. Kennedy made me. Q. Did you eventually sell your exchange to the General Film Company? A. I did. Q. And what was the figure at which you sold? A. At the same figures what Mr. Kennedy offered me that day. Q. Did you subsequently enter the employ of the General Film Company, and if so, in what capacity? A. As manager for the Alfred Weiss branch. Q. How many branches of the General Film Company were there in New York City at that time? A. To my knowledge that was the third or the fourth one. I don't remember exactly.