Gastropod

Can You Patent a Pizza?

Mar 5, 2024

Dive into the bizarre world of food intellectual property with the accidental creation of stuffed crust pizza and legal battles over patents for unique food inventions. Explore the challenges of protecting culinary innovations through trademarks and trade dress, and discover the importance of intellectual property in fostering creativity in the food industry.

50:58

Episode guests

Anthony Mongiello

AI Summary

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Stuffed crust pizza was accidentally invented by Anthony Mongiello, showcasing the creative nature of culinary inventions.

Intellectual property protections like trademarks and patents pose challenges in enforcing rights for food innovations like stuffed crust pizza, emphasizing the complexities of IP law in the industry.

Deep dives

Creating Stuffed Crust Pizza: The Birth of a Culinary Innovation

Anthony Mongiello, aka the Big Cheese, shares the fascinating story of how he accidentally invented stuffed crust pizza. While making a pizza at 18, he mistakenly combined two dough balls, leading to the creation of the iconic stuffed crust. This innovative idea was born from a simple cooking error, highlighting the creative nature of culinary inventions.

Encouraging Creativity and Innovation Through Intellectual Property

03:02

Innovation in Cheese Making

02:25

Protecting Inventions Through Trademark and Trade Dress

02:52

Introduction

2min

Generations of Cheese Making Innovation

2min

The Accidental Invention of Stuffed Crust Pizza

14min

Challenges of Protecting Stuffed-Crust Pizza Innovation and Exploring IP Options

1min

Trademark Protection and Trade Dress in Food Products

9min

Innovative Food Patents

4min

Pizza Innovation and Patent Battles

9min

Navigating Innovation and Intellectual Property in the Food Industry

7min

Exploring Creativity and Culinary Traditions in the Realm of Patents

3min

Close your eyes and imagine this: a world without stuffed crust pizza. We know!—but that was the dismal state of the Italian flatbread scene before 1985, when Anthony Mongiello, aka The Big Cheese, came up with an innovation that loaded even more cheese onto pizza, while saving crusts nationwide from the trashcan. It was a multi-million dollar idea, Mongiello was sure—if only he could figure out how to protect his intellectual property and license it. But can you copyright the recipe for stuffing the crust? Could that puffy, cheese-filled rim be trademarked, or the technique for making it qualify as a trade secret? Can you patent a pizza? And did Pizza Hut, which unveiled their own stuffed crust pie in 1995, steal his idea—or does the concept of a cheesy crust belong to humanity as a whole? This episode, we're diving deep into the weird and wonderful world of food IP, via the legendary legal battles to defend Pepperidge Farm's Goldfish, Smucker's Uncrustables, and that futuristic mall treat of the 90s, Dippin' Dots ice cream. Listen in now for the true story of stuffed crust pizza—a story in which creativity, commerce, and lots and lots of cheese collide.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.

Gastropod

Can You Patent a Pizza?

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Creating Stuffed Crust Pizza: The Birth of a Culinary Innovation

Navigating Intellectual Property in the Food Industry

Impact of First Mover Advantage and Attribution in Culinary Innovations

Encouraging Creativity Through Open Artistic Forums in Cuisine

Encouraging Creativity and Innovation Through Intellectual Property

Innovation in Cheese Making

Protecting Inventions Through Trademark and Trade Dress

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts