An Important Lesson About Patents and Patent Maximalism (They Drive People and Companies Away)
This previously happened in Texas, where companies perceived their presence (in any form) to be a liability as patent trolls could drag them to friendly courts and win "damages"
Some very rich people are watching their homes burn (oh! The luxuries of tech... or agony), set ablaze due to partly human-caused factors. There's no simple way to save these homes, even if private firefighters would get paid to prioritise "more important" "properties" and "estate" "assets". Even some studios are burning. This seems like an appropriate time to discuss why the capital of homeless people (it'll get worse soon*) is also the home of some of the richest Americans.
"An escape from oppressive patents founded the new movie industry out West competing with the original one in the east," an associate explains.
"That brought the music industry eventually and combined that brought an enormous related overpopulation including hangers-on and camp followers," this associate recalls. "That led to overbuilding and lack of urban planning (flammable houses packed together in dry canyons) which further led to more overpopulation which in turn exacerbated the existing shortage of water. Combine all that with the very hot, dry Santa Ana winds and add in extra heat and extra water shortages due to climate collapses and we arrive at where LA is now."
This is a hot topic right now (pardon the pun), but the angle about patents is worth considering (weather was also a factor).
2021: Thomas Edison: The Unintentional Founder of Hollywood
2022: Thomas Edison Drove the Film Industry to California
2024: How Hollywood was formed by independent filmmakers who hated Thomas Edison
The real Hollywood could instead be based in the eastern coast of the US if not for patent predators. █
______
* "As of February 2022 more than 40% of people experiencing homelessness in California lived in Los Angeles County," says Wikipedia, citing a 2023 report that stated: "over 171,000 Californians were counted as experiencing homelessness in early 2022."