Taco Bell is asking U.S. regulators to force rival Taco John’s to abandon its longstanding trademark claim for the term “Taco Tuesday,” according to The Associated Press.
According to the filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Taco Bell claims there are too many businesses and others that use the term “Taco Tuesday” for Taco John’s to hold exclusive rights to the phrase, The Washington Post reported.
“Taco Bell believes ‘Taco Tuesday’ is critical to everyone’s Tuesday. To deprive anyone of saying ‘Taco Tuesday’ — be it Taco Bell or anyone who provides tacos to the world — is like depriving the world of sunshine itself,” the Taco Bell filing reads.
It’s not the first time the trademark for the phrase has been challenged. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tried unsuccessfully to claim the trademark in 2019.
Taco John’s has an active trademark on the phrase in 49 states that dates to 1989.
But on Tuesday, Taco Bell filed a petition to cancel the trademark, saying the phrase should “belong to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos.”
The chain will and has defended the trademark, Barry Westrum, Taco John’s chief marketing officer, told the Post.
“We recognize that it has become a part of the American lexicon, just like ‘Have it your way,’ ‘Where’s the beef?’ ‘The real thing,’” Westrum said, “but that doesn’t give our competitors the right to take it away from us.”
Taco John’s has more than 370 restaurants across the country. The restaurant chain responded to Taco Bell’s filing by announcing a new two-week Taco Tuesday promotion, AP reported.
“I’d like to thank our worthy competitors at Taco Bell for reminding everyone that Taco Tuesday is best celebrated at Taco John’s,” CEO Jim Creel said in an emailed statement. “We love celebrating Taco Tuesday with taco lovers everywhere, and we even want to offer a special invitation to fans of Taco Bell to liberate themselves by coming by to see how flavorful and bold tacos can be at Taco John’s all month long.”
Under trademark law, ubiquitous terms cannot be owned by anyone. Terms such as trampoline, escalator and aspirin became so common that their trademarks were canceled.
