Ice cream innovations: IP with a cherry on top

A brief history of ice cream: origins, recipes and revolutions

People have been chilling out with icy treats for well over two millennia. In the 4th century B.C., Alexander the Great reportedly had a taste for snow mixed with honey and nectar – a rudimentary precursor to shaved ice. Centuries later, the Roman emperor Nero is said to have sent servants to gather snow, combining it with sweeteners for a luxurious refreshment similar to a modern granita or sorbet.

By the time of the Tang Dynasty in China (A.D. 618–907), wealthy elites were partaking of chilled dishes made from fermented buffalo, cow or goat milk mixed with flour and flavored with camphor. Over time, Eastern recipes made their way across Europe, where local culinarians applied their own techniques. In the latter half of the 16th century, Italian polymath Bernardo Buontalenti is credited with producing a creamier, richer delicacy to impress visiting Spanish dignitaries, and by the 1600s, "cream ice" had appeared at the court of Charles I of England.

In North America, the initial written reference to ice cream appeared in 1744, with the first newspaper advert published in 1777. Commercial production took some time to ramp up, but in 1851, Baltimore dairyman Jacob Fussell laid the groundwork for large-scale distribution.

As the dessert, in all its forms, spread across parlors, stalls and eventually supermarket shelves, innovation extended beyond recipes. It shaped the very tools and forms through which frozen indulgence was shared.

Tools of the trade: from molds to modern marvels

One such device was the humble ice cream server. Without this scoop, getting one's portion of ice cream would just be… harder. The task of wrangling frozen dairy into a dish was revolutionized in 1897 when hotel porter Alfred L. Cralle patented his "ice cream mold and disher" – a one-handed lever tool that simplified serving by incorporating its own scraper. With this invention, he became the first African American man in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to receive a patent.

Innovation continued from there, such as when Sherman Kelly received a patent in 1939 for a sleek tool using heat-conductive liquid in the handle for smoother scooping. Despite how it is extracted, when there is ice cream, a cone is often waiting to be filled, though that was not always the case.

Cone-troversy: who rolled it first?

It was the summer of 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair, with hot dogs, cotton candy and, you guessed it, ice ​​cream aplenty. But, supposedly, when one dairy vendor ran out of bowls, history was made. Legend has it that Ernest Hamwi, a nearby concessionaire selling zalabias, or wafer-like pastries, saw a new use for his wares and rolled up a cone to hold the creamy dessert. Voilà, the ice cream cone was ​​born; or was it?

As early as 1888, a recipe by Agnes Marshall for "cornets with cream" was circulated in the United Kingdom, shortly followed in 1901 by Antonio Valvona's patent for "apparatus for baking biscuit cups for ice cream." The Italian citizen living in England would partner with his countryman in the United States, Italo Marchiony, leading to another patent for a molded cone design in ​​1903 – a full year before the ​fair. So, who actually invented the cone? The Italian versions, though earlier, were much shorter than what we use nowadays, and the patents only covered the methods and apparatus used to make them. So Ernest Hamwi's brainwave is not out of the running as the source of the first "true" ice cream cornucopia.

Whatever their backstory, and whether you prefer sugar-, waffle- or cake cones, the ability to hold both dollops and whorls of ice cream has proven a winner worldwide.

The soft serve saga: a swirl of invention

Is it melted? Is it magic? No, it is soft-serve ice cream. Depending on whom you ask, its origin story is either an accident or a ​breakthrough. Tom Carvel claimed the idea came to him when his ice cream truck broke down in 1934, forcing him to sell melting ice cream on the roadside.

Meanwhile, J. F. McCullough and his son developed their own recipe in 1938 and eventually launched Dairy Queen. Even UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's name was churned into the debate, with a persistent, and debunked, rumor that she helped engineer the dessert during her pre-politics days as a food chemist.

Regardless of the competing sweet tales, it was Charles Taylor who, in 1926, filed a patent application for what is considered the world's first soft-serve machine. But while refrigerators and pumps helped make soft serve for the masses, branding helped it stick, not drip, and this is where trademarks take center stage.

Trademarks with taste: naming rights and brand battles

In the crowded world of foodstuffs, names are as important as ingredients. Just ask Ben & Jerry's, a company that once took legal action against a pornography studio that had produced a "Ben & Cherry's" series of adult films – a not-so-flattering homage. Caballero Video's parody may have aimed for amusement (among other things), but the association risked damaging the integrity and consumer trust of the original brand.

The parties later came to a settlement, and Caballero Video agreed not to use the contentious "designations" or distribute film titles that could be construed as infringing Ben & Jerry's notable trademarks, including Boston Cream Pie, Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Peanut Butter Cup. In this dispute, protecting a family-friendly image was especially significant given ice cream's popularity among children.

The case provides a clear example of how trademark infringement can harm a company's standing and customer loyalty, especially when it involves an unrelated and controversial industry. IP rights extend well beyond quirky flavor names and are the cornerstone of brand protection for the biggest companies. In today's markets, trademarks help defend not only words and symbols, but also the values, reputations and emotional connections businesses carefully cultivate.

Protecting cool creations

Of course, ice cream innovation is not limited to trademarked names and recipes guarded as trade secrets. Some inventors push the boundaries with ideas so bold they seem like science fiction. While instant preparation methods using liquid nitrogen or the rotating motorized cone may never go mainstream, they do show how far inventors will go to delight our sweet tooth and solve ice cream dilemmas.

All the clever and quirky creations to be found at the local parlor indicate that in the world of IP, anything is possible. Whether your product is practical or playful, it is only as secure as the rights behind it.

The next time you order a towering waffle cone, remember you are not just indulging in a dessert, but benefiting from centuries of invention and IP. So if you have the best thing since chocolate sprinkles in mind, Dennemeyer can help protect your rights across jurisdictions and industries. Whether it is a disruptive brand or novel process, our team ensures your innovation gets the crème de la crème of support.