Phoebus cartel
Predecessor | Internationale Glühlampen Preisvereinigung |
---|---|
Formation | 15 January 1925 |
Founders | Osram, General Electric, Associated Electrical Industries, Tungsram and Philips among others |
Founded at | Geneva, Switzerland |
Dissolved | 1939 |
Type | Cartel |
Products | Incandescent light bulbs |
The Phoebus cartel was an international cartel that controlled the manufacture and sale of incandescent light bulbs in much of Europe and North America between 1925–1939. The cartel took over market territories and lowered the useful life of such bulbs.[1]
Corporations based in Europe and the United States, including Tungsram, Osram, General Electric, Associated Electrical Industries, and Philips,[2] incorporated the cartel on January 15, 1925 in Geneva,[3] as Phœbus S.A. Compagnie Industrielle pour le Développement de l'Éclairage (French for "Phoebus plc Industrial Company for the Development of Lighting"). Although the group had intended the cartel to last for thirty years (1925 to 1955), it ceased operations in 1939 with the outbreak of World War II.
Following its dissolution, light bulbs continued to be sold at the 1,000-hour life standardized by the cartel.
History
Osram founded a precursor organisation in 1921, the Internationale Glühlampen Preisvereinigung. When Philips and other manufacturers entered the American market, General Electric reacted by setting up the "International General Electric Company" in Paris. Both organisations co-ordinated the trading of patents and market penetration. Increasing international competition led to negotiations among all the major companies to control and restrict their respective activities in order not to interfere in each other's spheres.[5][6]
The Phoebus cartel's compact was intended to expire in 1955, but it was instead nullified in 1940 after World War II made coordination among the members impossible.[6]
Purpose
The cartel lowered operational costs and worked to standardize the life expectancy of light bulbs at 1,000 hours[6] (down from 2,500 hours),[6] while raising prices without fear of competition. The reduction in lifespan has been cited as an example of planned obsolescence,[7] but this has been called into question by UK government regulators and some independent engineers because there are some good engineering reasons to reduce the lifespan of a bulb. A longer life bulb of a given wattage puts out less light (and proportionally more heat) than a shorter life bulb of the same wattage.[8][9] Nevertheless, both internal comments from cartel executives[6] and later findings by a US court[10] suggest that the direct motive of the cartel in decreasing bulb lifespan was to increase profits by forcing customers to buy bulbs more frequently.
The cartel tested their bulbs and fined manufacturers for bulbs that lasted more than 1,000 hours. A 1929 table listed the amount of
In 1951, the
In 1949, the
In popular culture
In Gravity's Rainbow (1973), Thomas Pynchon wrote about "Byron the Bulb", an anthropomorphic eternal lightbulb who fights against the Phoebus Cartel. Pynchon's novel has been credited with bringing the Phoebus Cartel to the public eye.[12][13]
See also
References
- from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- .
- ^ Feuille officielle suisse du commerce. Berne. 7 February 1925. p. 216.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Corporations: A Very Tough Baby". Time Magazine. 23 July 1945. Archived from the original on 1 August 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
- ISBN 3894731117. Archivedfrom the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f Markus Krajewski (24 September 2014). "The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy". IEEE Spectrum. Archived from the original on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ Briefing. Planned obsolescence: Exploring theissue europa.eu
- ^ ISBN 010518487X. Archived(PDF) from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Hehkulampussa ja ledissä sama ongelma: lämpö Archived 2011-10-15 at the Wayback Machine, Suomen Kuvalehti 13.10.2011, an interview of research scientist, D.Sc. Eino Tetri, Leader of the Light Sources and Energy Group in Aalto University
- ^ a b United States v. General Electric Co. et al., 82 F.Supp. 753 (D.N.J. 1949).
- ^ Peretti, Jacques (July 2014). "The Men Who Made Us Spend, Episode 1". BBC. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ^ "The Story Behind the Story Behind "The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy" - IEEE Spectrum".
- ^ "The Phoebus Cartel : Planet Money". NPR. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023.
Further reading
- Wells, Wyatt C. (2002). Antitrust and the Formation of the Postwar World. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12398-1.
External links
- Patrick Gaughen "Structural Inefficiency in the Early Twentieth Century: Studies in the Aluminum and Incandescent Lamp Markets" Social Science 610, December, 1998, 36 pp.
- U K Monopolies Commission "Report on the Supply of Electric Lamps", His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, October 1951, v + 199 pp.
- Markus Krajewski "The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy" IEEE Spectrum, September, 2014.
- Cosima Dannoritzer "The Light Bulb Conspiracy - Extended Video Version" New World News Network, August 8, 2016
- Planet Money Podcast "Episode 902: The Phoebus Cartel" npr.org, 27 March 2019