The motion picture industry was founded by filmmakers fleeing Thomas Edison's patent monopoly that controlled film technology, establishing that new industries emerge precisely where old monopolies are escapable.
factualpending
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Lawrence LessigEvidence Quote
“Creators and directors migrated from the East Coast to California in the early twentieth century in part to escape controls that patents granted the inventor of filmmaking, Thomas Edison... California was remote enough from Edison's reach that filmmakers there could pirate his inventions without fear of the law.”
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Free cultureCreated: 8/13/2026, 2:35:01 AM
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