It doesn’t matter who innovates it first.
A funny story to share; there are two expensive bubble tea brands were fighting who innovate the first bubble tea in Taiwan.
They even fought a lawsuit over it. Interestingly, the court finally ruled that pearl milk tea aka bubble tea, like coffee, can be made by anyone, so no one has the right to invent it.
Ironically, they are ranked by the public as the most expensive but not the best pearl milk tea in Taiwan.