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.
The patent law provides that the life of a patent is no longer than 20 years from the date that the patent application was filed, and no shorter than 17 years from issuance. Depending upon how fast the patent office issues your patent can significantly impact the total length of the patent term.