As it turns out, there are as many origin stories for barbecue as there are spellings of the word on neon signs. These explanations range from a linguistic attempt to connect barbecue to boucan (also French) to a tall tale tracing barbecue to a Texas rancher who happened to brand the initials B.Q. on his livestock.
Patent protection usually ends when the patent expires. Here are the expiration dates: For all utility patents filed before June 8, 1995, the patent term is 20 years from date of filing, or 17 years from date of issuance, whichever period is longer.
If the patent term has not expired, you will then want to check with the USPTO to see if the required maintenance fees have been paid. There are three maintenance fees due for utility patents (design patents do not have maintenance fees): 3 years, 7 years and 11 years. U.S. Patent No. 6,854,555). 2  If the competitor's product does not have a patent number directly on it, check the packaging, marketing materials and website for any patent notices. 3  After you have identified a patent number of interest, you can perform a patent number search to view the patent.