Groceries
Controversy 100 years ago: Who was the first to put the stick in the ice cream?
A historic ice cream truck advertising “popsicles.” photo
© –/Unilever Deutschland Gmbh/dpa
A drink forgotten on a cold night supposedly leads to the birth of popsicles. A look at the history of its creation and the legal dispute that arose over the patents.
However, Epperson later was not the first to apply for a patent for the production of this frozen delicacy. The American confectioner Harry B. Burt preceded him on October 9, 1923. At the time, this led to a dispute over the now popular invention.
Water ice cream on a stick: This is how the “popsicle” is made
Epperson is said to have waited more than 15 years to recreate his accidental invention from the cold night. His product was water ice, later known as “Popsicle” and advertised as “A Drink on a Stick.”
Almost 20 years have passed since that night in 1905. At the end of 1923, Epperson patented the “Popsicle” brand. On June 11, 1924, the Californian finally applied for a patent for the process, which was granted two months later. Around this time he co-founded the Popsicle Company. In 1924 he handed over all patent rights to them.
The second popsicle: “Good Humor Bar”
Harry B. Burt’s product is about dairy ice cream. The pastry chef took the idea from a teacher in Iowa who patented the “Eskimo Pie” in January 1922. This is ice cream pressed into a rectangle and covered in chocolate.
What Burt does back then: He sticks a stick into a chocolate-covered ice cream bar and creates the “Good Humor Bar” (German: Gute-Laune-Bar). Burt proclaims that this is “the new, clean, convenient way to eat ice cream.”
After his death in 1926, Burt’s widow Cora continued to run the company, but quickly sold it to Midland Food Products. This company then renames itself Good Humor Corporation.
How the dispute over ice lollies came about
At that time, the standardization of products was still relatively unknown. The “Good Humor Bar” treat should have the same ingredients and taste everywhere. Therefore, at the beginning of 1922, Burt applied for patents for the process, the manufacturing apparatus and the product. On October 9, 1923 he received it for the process and the machines. However, a patent is never granted for the product itself.
Despite this, Burt claims ownership of all forms of frozen candy on a stick. Burt told the June 1925 issue of The Ice Cream Review that he was “many months ahead of all the other patents.” The Ohio confectioner follows up with a warning: “Our royalties are small, far less than the cost of litigation that a patent infringer would bring.”
Legal war over popsicles begins
Said and done: In 1925, Burt files a lawsuit against his main competitor, the Popsicle Corporation. From then on there was a legal back and forth between the companies. Finally, in the fall of 1925, Burt agreed on a licensing agreement with Popsicle.
Disputing parties clarify content and form
The two parties divide the market: The license only applies to ice cream on a stick, which consists of “flavored syrup, water ice or sorbet” and is “frozen on a stick”.
The licensor – Burt – retains “all other rights”. This includes products made from “ice cream, frozen pudding or similar.” The appearance is also clarified: From now on, the “Popsicle” will have a cylindrical shape, Burt’s “Good Humor Bar” will have a rectangular one.
Popsicle enrages Good Humor again
Under pressure from some licensees and because of the falling milk price, Popsicle came up with the idea of offering a cheap ice cream product. That’s why there is a final legal battle with Good Humor.
The 1925 licensing agreement allowed Popsicle to produce sorbet, for which there was no established definition in the industry at the time. Popsicle wants to fill the gap with a light milk ice cream called “Milk Popsicle”.
Both a district court and the appeals court found in 1932 and 1933 that Popsicle was in violation of the 1925 agreement. Even before the verdict comes, Popsicle and Good Humor reach an out-of-court agreement.
Anyone who owns “Popsicle” and “Good Humor Bar” today
The irony of history: years of disputes and agreements no longer play a role. Today, both the “Good Humor Bar” and “Popsicle” are owned and manufactured by one company: Good Humor-Breyers Ice Cream. The company belongs to the Unilever group.