The Manufacturer's Aircraft Association (MAA) was a

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. An industry tra ...

and

patent pool In patent law, a patent pool is a consortium of at least two companies agreeing to cross-license patents relating to a particular technology. The creation of a patent pool can save patentees and licensees time and money, and, in case of blocking ...

of U.S. aircraft manufacturers formed in 1917. The U.S. military and other elements of the U.S. federal government pressured the Wright Company, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, and other manufacturers to form the association to break a patent logjam that was preventing U.S. manufacturers from making airplanes that the U.S. military could use in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Legally, the MAA was a private corporation which had an agreement with the airplane manufacturers to cross-license their patents without substantial royalties. The MAA was dissolved in 1975.

History and records

The U.S. entered

in 1917. The two major U.S. companies holding aviation patents, the Wright Company and the Curtiss Company, had effectively blocked the building of new airplanes, which were desired for the war effort. The U.S. government, as a result of a recommendation the

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...

, formed by then

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depa ...

, Franklin D. Roosevelt, pressured the industry to form a cross-licensing organization, the MAA, in 1917. The association was designed as a

which drew up a

cross-licensing agreement A cross-licensing agreement is a contract between two or more parties where each party grants rights to their intellectual property to the other parties. Patent law In patent law, a cross-licensing agreement is an agreement according to which two ...

to allow manufacturers to have unrestrained use of airplane patents in order to produce airplanes for the government's war effort. Early members included aviation pioneers Orville Wright and

Glenn Curtiss Glenn Hammond Curtiss (May 21, 1878 – July 23, 1930) was an American aviation and motorcycling pioneer, and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle racer and builder before moving on to motorcycles. As early ...

, as well as representatives of major aircraft manufacturing units in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Frank Henry Russell participated in the MAA's formation and was elected its president, which he remained until his death in 1947. Records of the MAA are archived among the Transportation Collections of the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyomin ...

American Heritage Center The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United St ...

, in

Laramie, Wyoming Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States. The population was estimated 32,711 in 2019, making it the third-largest city in Wyoming after Cheyenne and Casper. Located on the Laramie River in southeaste ...

. Those records reportedly document the history of aircraft, and document the relationships of the MAA with its various members, the military, and the U.S. Congress. They include records related to the aircraft manufacturing industry's principal trade associations: the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America, Inc. (1920-1943), and the Aerospace Industries Association, Inc. (AIA) (1952-1975)."Transportation Collections,"
American Heritage Center, Univ. of Wyoming., retrieved 2016-07-09Inventory of the Manufacturers Aircraft Association records, 1843-1979,"
Rocky Mountain Online Archive (RMOA),

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25, ...

, retrieved 2016-07-09 The online inventory of those MAA records provides an introductory section with additional information on the history of the MAA.

References

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External links

Manufacturers Aircraft Association records
at the

–

History and records

See also

References

External links