Does anyone know if this has been patented? When digestive biscuits first came out in 1890, they were patented.
On the podcast, they talk more about the process of creating the cutting die and how much that costs, etc. Also, they had some trouble finding a pasta mill to make the exact shape they wanted. So, even if it's not patented, it might not be profitable to just copy it. After all, most other shapes are cheaper and no "real" pasta company is going to get into a PR fiasco just to sell a different shape out of the 100s they already have.
[1]: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/sponsored/patents-behind-past...