Beer koozie
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A beer koozie is a fabric or foam device that is designed to insulate a beverage can or bottle.
Name, origin, and trademark dispute
The beer koozie(koō-zie), coastie[citation needed], cozy[1][2], coosie[3], coolie[1], coldy-holdy[1], beer hugger[1], or beer huggie[1], is a misnomer since it is not always used for an alcoholic beverage. Other names are can cooler[1] "beer sleeve"[citation needed] and bottle jacket. In Australia it is called a stubby holder due to the shape of the 375ml bottles of beer being shorter and fatter compared to the more slender 330ml bottles.
The name Koozie was coined as a trademark, according to Norwood Promotional Products which sells them. It was originally a trademark of the company whose 1979 invention it was: Texas company Radio Cap Corporation (RCC). RCC registered the trademark in 1980; but the registration lapsed in 2001. Norwood had bought RCC in 1989, and it re-registered the trademark in February 2004.[1][4]
Norwood has been in a dispute, on and off over several years in the 2000s, over the Koozie trademark status with a WWW mail-order business called Kustom Koozies. Norwood asserts that names such as beer hugger, can cooler, and huggie do not infringe its trademark, but that koozie, coozie', coolie, and cozy do.[1][4] Kustom Koozies asserted in 2005 that the trademark had become generic.[1][4] In the years since, Norwood and Kustom Koozies came to a licencing agreement over the use of the trademark, but by 2009 they were in dispute again, as Kustom Koozies (unsuccessfully) attempted to cancel the trademark licencing agreement in response to Norwood instructing it to make certain changes to its WWW site, one of which was that "Koozie" should be set out in all-capital letters as "KOOZIE".[5]
Use
Koozies can be used as marketing tools. The primary use of a beer koozie is to effectively insulate a beverage from heat via both conduction and external infrared sources (for example: a hand, warm air or strong sunlight). Using a beer koozie can reduce the rate a drink warms in the sun by up to 50%.[6] A secondary use of a beer koozie is to easily identify one's beverage from another. Many different companies have used the koozie as a promotional giveaway because it is not only inexpensive to manufacture, but its frequent use is more likely to bring the company's name to a household presence. Originally this logo or image was screen-printed on a round foam cylinder with a foam base (generally a hole is provided in the base to alleviate creation of a vacuum). A koozie can be made from many materials like neoprene, polyester or open cell foam.
Materials and styles
The beer koozie has evolved in both material and style. The materials of which the beer koozie has been made include plain foam, neoprene, closed cell foam and EVA foam. Some companies create koozies for 40 oz. bottles, others adjust to fit the wide variety of sizes of beverage container. The material used to construct the koozie is designed to insulate the enclosed beverage from external sources of radiant and conducted heat (i.e. heat from a hand/or the sun).
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Snell 2006.
- ^ Freeman 2009.
- ^ Shuman.
- ^ a b c Glenn 2005.
- ^ Farrell 2012.
- ^ Tillett, Darren. "Performance and properties of commonly used drink insulators". Retrieved 14 January 2013.
Sources
- Farrell, Kenan (2012-01-06). "Indiana Trademark Litigation Update — Norwood Promotional Products v. KustomKoozies (DECISION)". IndianaIntellecualProperty web log.
- Freeman, Jan (2009-01-04). "Why is that beer jacket a 'koozie'?". The Boston Globe (Boston.com). Retrieved 2010-09-15.
- Glenn, Brittany (September 2005). "NORWOOD BATTLES FOR THE KOOZIE NAME". Promotional Products Business magazine.
- "Sydney Shuman's Site". Dfinitions.synthasite.com. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
- Snell, Teddye (2006-01-20). "Drinkthink: Keeping it hot and cold". Tahlequah Daily Press.
