Alkuperäiset ketsuppikeskustelut
Medline Alankomaat
Hallo! Dit is Medline, hoe kan ik u helpen?
»Good day, this is Verneri Kontto calling. Do you speak English?»
Well, a little, heh…
»Well, I’m calling about a certain product on your page. I would like to know some patent information, do you think you can help me?»
I might be able to, do you have a shipping address in the Netherlands?
»No, I do not.»
Hmm. Just a minute. What country do you have a shipping address in?
»Finland.»
Alright, then I have to give you the number of the exports department.
* tässä vaiheessa hän luetteli vientiosaston puhelinnumeron *
»Thank you, have a nice day.»
You too, good bye!
Medline Yhdysvallat
Thank you for calling Medline Customer Service, this is Susan. How can I help you?
»Hello, this is Verneri Kontto. I’m calling from Finland.»
From Finland?
»Yeah.»
Hahaha, you’re a long way away!
»Yeah.. my question is about some patent information, do you think you could help me?»
Let me go ahead and get you over to my corporate office, okay? Can I have you hold for just a moment?
»Sure.»
Thank you.
* jonotusmusiikki alkoi soimaan, ja viisi minuuttia myöhemmin minulle rupesi puhumaan äänite *
Krueger at Medline. I’m not available to take your call right now, please leave a message and I’ll get back with you as soon as possible. Record your message after the tone. *piip*
»Hello, this is Verneri Kontto calling. I would like to inquire about a product patent. You have a product called “Disposable Paper Soufflé Cups” on your web page. Its Identifier number is NON024214. I would like to know the patent number for the product or any information regarding its design patent. Thank you.»
Dart Container Corporation
Hello!
My inquiry is about the Solo® Paper Portion Containers (link to product) and their design. [see Figure 1 — the Cup in question]
Because of the nature of the cup’s design, its assembly requires no glue — only creasing, overlapping folding and rolling of the edges.
Is this a conscious (possibly environmental) design choice or are the cups meant to be unrolled and unfolded [see Figure 2 — An exaggerated unfolding] as to fit more condiments?
A food news aggregator “Foodbeast.com” wrote about said cups in August 2012 under the headline “So apparently we’ve been using ketchup cups all wrong” demonstrating the unfolding nature of the container. [see Figure 3 — screenshot from the article]
Can you (or anyone involved in the design process) confirm the correct usage? Are the cups supposed to be expanded or is the reason they “fan out” only a side effect of environmentally friendly design?
Additionally, I noticed that another company called Genpak also sells containers with a similar, if not identical folding mechanism, under the Harvest® brand name (link to product) leading me to believe the patent for the cup template is registered by some unrelated entity and licensed to parties like Dart Container Corporation and Genpak.
I would greatly appreciate if you could point me into the right direction regarding any Patent information related to the cup or its mechanism.
Thank you!
Thank you for your interest in Dart.
Please provide us with, your company name and complete business address and telephone number, so we may process your inquiry.
Thank you again for your interest in Dart.
— Dart Container Corporation
Dear Mr. Konto:
The pleats used in making Paper Soufflé Cups may vary by manufacturer, but each type of pleat goes back many years, and any related patents have likely long since expired. Solo has been making pleated Paper Soufflé Cups since the 1920s. Making Soufflé Cups with no adhesive is simply the most economical way to make those products, so any environmental advantage is incidental.
Regarding the comment, “So apparently we’ve been using ketchup cups all wrong”, we think this is more likely just one consumer’s idea that they considered worth sharing. It is not anything we have recommended. It would seem to make usage more messy, and it would not appear to make use of the cups easier, but, to each his own.
We appreciate your interest in our products.
DART CONTAINER CORPORATION
