If you like spicy food, you most likely know what Sriracha is.

What you might not know is that the developer of the popular condiment in the United States never filed a trademark application and now he’s not only facing fierce competition, he’s witnessed his product name go from new in the American market to generic.

The Los Angeles Times wrote about the plight of David Tran, the Vietnamese refugee who built the Huy Fong Foods, Inc. Sriracha empire from scratch, and then opened the door for anyone and everyone to share in the product’s popularity. Huy Fong brought in $60 million in sales in 2013 and was expected to keep growing by 20 percent annually.

The hot sauce has expanded beyond the condiment aisle in grocery stores to Sriracha popcorn, potato chips, and even vodka. Some of these Sriracha-flavored products are manufactured by major brands like Heinz and Frito-Lay. Tran makes no money from those products and claims he has no regrets. He told the Los Angeles Times he considers it free advertising.

So why didn’t he register a trademark when he started his company 35 years ago? Tran says he was advised not to because the chili sauce’s name comes from a geographic location (the city of Si Racha in Thailand).

Now the McIlhenny Co., makers of Tabasco, is getting ready to distribute its Sriracha sauce nationwide and Tran is worried about the new competition, even though it’s probably too late for him to claim the trademark. Over the years more than 20 trademark applications for Sriracha have been filed with the USPTO and none of them have been granted because the agency says the term is too generic (remember zipper, aspirin, and … heroin?).

Tran has trademarked his rooster logo and bottle design. And recently, his legal team has been busy going after knock-offs made in China, and inking licensing deals with companies that place a value on aligning with “the real thing,” like Rogue Ales’ Rogue Sriracha Hot Stout Beer.

We’ve already mentioned a few … tell us in the Comments section what your favorite examples of brand names that have become genericized are. Here’s a list of 41 examples from Mental Floss to get your memory flowing.

And if you’re one of those spicy food lovers who think you already know everything there is to know about Sriracha, check out Thrillist’s “14 Things You Didn’t Know About Sriracha, Including Its Proper Pronunciation.”