Flying Discs

Most of us have enjoyed tossing a Frisbee with friends on an open green, or perhaps on a beach. Spinning the disc is a common kids activity that many people continue through adulthood by playing Ultimate and Disc Golf.

Frisbee Pie, Atlas Obscura.

But not many people are aware of the extensive IP protection that the originators of the flying disc secured, and the enormous IP and brand value that was generated (and ultimately tossed away).

The first flying discs were actually aluminum pie tins used by the Frisbie Pie Company, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Employees would fling the metal pie tins during lunch break, and school kids and Yale students tossed the pans around and would yell “Frisbie!” so they wouldn't get hit by the spinning tins.

William Morrison began making plastic discs and filed for a design patent for a “Flying Toy,” in September 1957. The toy company, Wham-O™ acquired rights to make and sell plastic discs and they changed the name of the toy to Frisbee™, registering the trademark on May 26, 1959.

Years later, in 1967, a Wham-O designer, Ed Headrick, patented the design for the modern Frisbee, adding a band of raised ridges on the disc’s surface to stabilize flight. The utility patent is US3,359,678, titled “Flying Saucer.”

By aggressively marketing Frisbee-playing as a new sport, Wham-O had sold over 100 million units of its famous toy by 1977.

The design patent expired in the 1960’s, but the utility patent provided market exclusivity until the mid-1980’s. Wham-O was able to dominate the flying disc market after patent expiration due to its trademark protection and its highly recognized brand name.

But, by the late 1980’s, the company’s dominance began to unravel, as players noticed a deterioration in Frisbee quality, with the discs susceptible to cracks and warping. After a thorough materials analysis, it was discovered that cost-saving measures and inferior plastic materials were the root cause, leading the Ultimate Players Association (now USAU) to adopt the Discraft UltraStar as the official disc in 1991 for Ultimate competition, as it has remained now for 30 years.

Mark Licata, a dear friend, conducted the materials analysis that helped determine the root cause of that Frisbee product woes.