  We investigate the constructions of tail-biting trellises for linear block
codes introduced by Koetter/Vardy (2003) and Nori/Shankar (2006). For a given
code we will define the sets of characteristic generators more generally than
by Koetter/Vardy and we will investigate how the choice of characteristic
generators affects the set of resulting product trellises, called KV-trellises.
Furthermore, we will show that each KV-trellis is a BCJR-trellis, defined in a
slightly stronger sense than by Nori/Shankar, and that the latter are always
non-mergeable. Finally, we will address a duality conjecture of Koetter/Vardy
by making use of a dualization technique of BCJR-trellises and prove the
conjecture for minimal trellises.
