[IP Encyclopedia] Back to the past Eco-friendly paper straw actually regression to the past?

Paper straw [Photo provided = Image Today]

Patent Application : Paper straw

Year : 1888

Nation : U.S.A

Region : Washington

Name : Marvin Chester Stone

After the Industrial Revolution countries around the world have been competing for economic development. As a result it brought prosperity to humankind however at the same time presented environmental problems. Since the PARIS AGREEMENT on Climate Change (2016) which was concluded not to destroy the environment any more many nations are making variety efforts to preserve the environment. In todays IP encyclopedia we will look deep into the eco-friendly intellectual property Paper Straw.

Paper straws have been spreaded out mainly in global franchise cafes over the past few years. It is currently recommended to both for foreigners as well as Koreans to use paper straws rather than plastic straws or not using at all. However this paper straw which seems to have only been invented is said to have been in use since around 5000 BC.

The Sumerian civilization the first civilization ever to be disclosed is known as an ancient civilization that existed in the Mesopotamian region of West Asia. At that time it is revealed that the Sumerians made beer in jars and drink them. It is written in the Sumerian wedges of clay that they used tools such as long straws to drink beer in these deep jars. Besides the Sumerians you can also see the use of straws in ancient Egyptian murals.

The origin of straws can be known through these ancient records however the concepts of intellectual property was not clearly positioned at that time therefore it is not possible to check a patent or a utility model for straws.

However in the 1880s after a while the concept of intellectual property as a patent was already made in the United States and the first straw patent in 1888 can be found. A man named Marvinstone who worked at a tobacco factory in Washington U.S.A invented a paper straw from drinking.

After working he enjoyed drinking high-level whiskey but in those days due to the trait of whiskey which is sensitive to the temperature there was problem that the taste of whiskey would change if the hand is touched to the glass.

However Marvinstone decided that the natural straw made by reed also had an bad effect on the taste of whiskey so while finding for a substitute material for the reed he thought of idea by looking at the cigarette he was smoking.

Utilizing the shape of the cigarette that wraps the tobacco leaf he rolled up a round and long piece of paper and attached it to the end to make a paper straw. His first work was the most famous in nearby bar. In 1888 this paper straw design was finally patented and instantly commercialized and it was mass-produced and sold out all over the world under the power of the Industrial Revolution.

Since then Marvinstone has upgraded a plastic straw that does not get wet and has become a requisite for people all over the world.

In 1937 Joseph Friedman a real estate brokerage developed a free-flexible straw for his daughter who had a poor use of straw and spilled drinks on the floor. This straw is the plastic corrugated straw that is known until recently.

Paper straws first patented in 1888 continually evolved into plastic corrugated straws for our convenience but we are using paper straws that were utilized a long time ago in the 2020s literally it is Regression to the past.

Normally in some fields returning to the past also means Degeneration or Downgrade. however in the straw industry the reuse of paper straws might be a step forward for the worlds 6 billion people and the planet.

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