The current, shiny-backed, version of duck tape was developed by Revolite (Johnson & Johnson) for the US military during WWII, though they did not actually invent it.
Wikipedia: “Duck tape” is recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary as having been in use since 1899 “duct tape” (described as “perhaps an alteration of earlier duck tape”) since 1965.
Manco (Duck brand) may have the trademark but they only trace their history back to 1950.
