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Manufacturers Aircraft Association records, 1843-1979

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Manufacturers Aircraft Association
Title
Manufacturers Aircraft Association records
Dates
1843-1979 (inclusive)
Quantity
471.22 cubic ft. (869 boxes)
Collection Number
06858
Summary
Records of the Manufacturers Aircraft Association, formed in 1917 at the request of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to implement and administer a cross-licensing agreement and to act as a clearing house for aircraft patents. The records document the history of aircraft and the relationship of the MAA with its members, the military, and congress.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes,and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

The Manufacturers Aircraft Association Inc. was created in 1917 by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to administer a cross-license agreement, issue licenses to aircraft companies, aid the aircraft industry, and encourage aeronautical development. The subscribers were airplane manufacturers who were stockholders and paid fees for every plane that they manufactured. The association protected its members' patent rights. From the day of its incorporation the motives of the manufacturers and the government were controversial. The association was investigated numerous times by congressional committees throughout its history. In 1965 the government filed an anti-trust suit against the association. After a lengthy legal battle, the M.A.A. was dissolved in 1977.

The Association came into being when the United States government realized the utility of aircraft in military operations in 1916. Therefore inventions, patents, and design rights applicable to aircraft became a national interest. Because aeronautical development in the United Stated was seriously retarded by litigation over the validity and value of important airplane patents, the government thought that natural expansion and normal growth of the industry seemed impossible. In 1917 the Hon. Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Acting Secretary of the Navy, and Hon. W.M. Ingraham, then Acting Secretary of War, requested the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to study this problem (the N.A.C.A. was created by congress in 1915 to advise the president and the executive departments on aeronautical questions).

The N.A.C.A.'s plan was to create an organization independent of the government. The Manufacturers Aircraft Association was formed to administer a cross-license agreement, issue licenses, aid the aircraft industry, and encourage aeronautical development. The M.A.A. was incorporated in the State of New York in 1917. The subscribers of the association were airplane manufacturers. They were stockholders and paid fees to the association for every airplane that they manufactured. In return the association protected their patent rights. It had a patent research division, extensive files on patent history, and published informational bulletins and reports for the subscribers.

From the day of its incorporation the motives of the subscribers and the government were publicly attacked by the press and some members of congress. The association was investigated numerous times by congressional committees throughout its history. Its policies and procedures were always found blameless by the committees. In 1965 the government filed an anti-trust suit against the association. After a lengthy legal battle, the M.A.A. was dissolved in 1977.

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Content Description

The records of the Manufacturers Aircraft Association contain a comprehensive history of aviation. There is information on aircraft companies, airlines, flying competitions, aeronautical expositions, aviators, air mail, patent disputes over similar designs, and other legal matters. There is a significant amount of material regarding the M.A.A.'s relationship with the U.S. military and Congress. The photographs are primarily of aircraft companies and airlines. The focus of the printed material published by the M.A.A. is patent law, and records of patent ownership.

The records contain a comprehensive history of attempts to fly, aircraft companies, patent disputes over similar designs, and other legal matters. There is a significant amount of material regarding the Manufacturers Aircraft Association, Inc.'s relationship with the U.S. military and investigations of the M.A.A. and the aircraft industry by government agencies.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Manufacturers Aircraft Association Records, 1843-1979, Collection Number 6858, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged into eleven series:

Series I. Administrative Files

Series II. Correspondence Files

Series III. Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America, Inc.

Series IV. Aircraft Investigations

Series V. Aerospace Industries Assocation, Inc.

Series VI. Subject Files

Series VII. Legal Files

Series VIII. Patent Files

Series IX. Photographs

Series X. Printed Material

Series XI. Scrapbook Materials

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Loreley Moore in June 2006 and updated by Jamie J. Greene in May 2017 and September 2019.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition

The collection was donated by J.F. Murbach and Clifford Jones from 1976-1983 and the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University from 2015-2018.

Related Materials

Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by Manufacturers Aircraft Association as of the date of processing.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Processed by Loreley Moore
2007; 2017

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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