A condition in which a single company is the exclusive manufacturer of a product or provider of a service or controls an entire industry, thereby allowing the company to fix prices. A monopolistic condition can arise when a company invents and patents a product that is so compelling that an entire industry builds up around it. If the company continues to develop and patent further versions of the product, it can extend that monopolistic condition, perhaps acquiring or overwhelming competitors. Natural monopoly, a concept developed by political economist John Stuart Mill (1806