In 1995, Pizza Hut introduced the Stuffed Crust Pizza.
It was revolutionary. Well, within the industry at least.
But the innovation didn't come without controversy.
Brooklyn native Anthony Mongiello contests Pizza Hut's claim that it invented the type of pizza — and he has a patent from way back in 1987 to prove it.
Venessa Wong at Bloomberg Businessweek spoke with the "indignant" cheese maker.
“I can tell you how I created it!” he told her. “I had it patented, I had it trademarked, and I had it stolen from me.”
His family sued for $1 billion, but lost in 1999.
“[Mongiello’s] method patent is not infringed simply because some examples of defendant’s completed product approximate plaintiff’s product,” the judge determined.
The Stuffed Crust Pizza ended up becoming one of Pizza Hut's biggest brands.
Here's the patent if you'd like you peruse it >
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