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. Through collabor ...

and

patent pool In patent law, a patent pool is a consortium of two or more 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 pa ...

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 Wright Company was the commercial aviation business venture of the Wright brothers, established by them on November 22, 1909, in conjunction with several prominent industrialists from New York and Detroit with the intention of capitalizing on ...

, the

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909–1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Curtiss, Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in ...

, 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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 1977.

History and records

The U.S. entered

in 1917. The two major U.S. companies holding aviation patents, the

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 from the

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

, 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 Depart ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, 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 The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first succes ...

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 a ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

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 and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, Native Americans, and W ...

, in

Laramie, Wyoming Laramie () is a List of municipalities in Wyoming, city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States, known for its high elevation at , for its railroad history, and as the home of the University of Wyoming. The population wa ...

. 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 The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) – originally the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce (1922-1945), then Aircraft Industries Association (1945-1960)

, 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; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

, 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

{{reflist, 2

External links

Manufacturers Aircraft Association records
at the

History in Flight at the American Heritage Center
a
AHC blogs
Aerospace Trade associations based in the United States Patent pools

History and records

See also

References

External links