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.
1 Patents that issued before the 1995 changeover have a term of 17 years from the patent issuance date. 2  Patents that were filed before the 1995 date but issued afterwards get the longer of the two terms. 3  Most patents issued in the past decade have an added term adjustment (PTA) due to delays in examination at the USPTO.