In 1917, at the outbreak of
the first World War, a number of bankers saw the potential for
colossal profits in aviation and formed a cartel, a monopoly which
was in the 1920s and 1930s referred to as the Air Trust.
[Trust defined: "the term "Trust" is
applicable to any act, agreement or combination believed to possess
the intention, power, or tendency
to monopolize business, interfere
with trade, fix prices, etc." -- John
Moody "The Truth About the Trusts" Greenwood Press, 1904 / reprinted
1968, p. XIV]
Anyone who belonged to the Air Trust would
pool their patents for their mutual benefit but they went one step
further, they made a deal with certain officials of the United
States Government to steal patents from inventors who did not belong
to the cartel. This theft was implemented by the insertion of a
"save-harmless-clause" in government procurement contracts with
favored companies.
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