No idea who made them. Probably limited distribution or perhaps only marketed it Canada? Have never seen one before. I'd think more 'spin' on the patent application than in real life. Are the petals still 'alive' or are they now brittle? If alive you could run a comparative test w/a wad like a AA and draw your on conclusion to the spreader effect claim.

Also, you may be able to get an answer from the reloading forum on shotgun world, if you don't get one here.