Have you checked to see if that certain manufacturers patents have expired? I don't exactly remember when that technology was introduced, but it was a long time ago. 1990ish?
Actually I just did a quick google and it was 1993 and the US patent expired April 10, 2019.
I don't think it is forbidden to name that "certain manufacturer" and the patent number?
For clarity, we are talking about the 1-wire protocol from Dallas Semiconductor, and the foundational patent which (finally) expired is US5210846B1.
I will never understand the legacy terms and expiry rules of US patent law, as they were applicable to patents filed before the mid-90s (?)... That patent application was filed in 1989, and first granted in 1993. How did they manage to keep it alive until 2019?! Anyway, it's gone now in the US, and any international counterparts must have expired ten years ago, with the more logical patent timelines used in the rest of the world.
While Dallas may still hold more recent patents on various implementation details, the basic protocol and bus architecture (as described in the above-mentioned patent) is now free to use.