the film industry goes to LA

blog question: If you had to summarize and explain the events that led from the film industry's transfer from New Jersey to Los Angeles, how would you explain it? What was Thomas Edison's role in this transition? What role did patents and Nickleodeons play in this dispute


What had happened was they Edison had created a monopoly in the film industry acquiring pattens on everything from lightbulbs to the Phonograph, and while doing this he had formed the Motion Picture Patent Company. There had had joined forces with Eastman Kodak, which owned the patent on raw film stock. The Trust’s control of patents on motion picture cameras ensured that only MPPC studios were able to film, and the projector patents allowed the Trust to make licensing agreements with distributors and theaters – and thus determine who screened their films and where. In short, if you wanted to be in the movie business, you did so at the pleasure of Thomas Edison. Many in the film industry, known as “independents,” chose a different option, flee. California made a lot of sense, not only for the reasons listed above, but also because it was in an area where judges were less friendly to the patents awarded to Edison and company.