Taco Tuesday Trademark Dispute is Over
The Taco Tuesday trademark dispute is over
The phrase Taco Tuesday that was trademarked by Taco John’s is now free to be use by all. Taco John’s has given up its trademark rights after a brief battle by Taco Bell. The Taco Tuesday trademark dispute is over. The phrase “Taco Tuesday” was trademarked by Taco Johns and had been registered as a trademark since 1989, except in the state of New Jersey.
Taco Bell filed a petition with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) arguing that no one should have the rights to a commonly used phrase.
Taco John’s CEO, Jim Creel, said “We’ve always prided ourselves on being the home of Taco Tuesday, but paying millions of dollars to lawyers to defend our mark just doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.”
Taco John’s has 400 locations in 23 states, while Taco Bell has more than 7,200 locations in the US and 1,000 restaurants across 30 countries.
The interesting part about this dispute is the fact the phrase Taco Tuesday has been used by taco shops and Mexican restaurants throughout the United States for years. The vast use of the trademark appears to have gone with opposition or litigation by Taco John’s. That said in the trademark world if you own a trademark, but fail to enforce and protect your rights you can lose your rights to the trademark.
In this case the villain is Taco Bell, but that was likely because they knew that the lack of protection by Taco John’s would be the evidence they needed to get the trademark cancelled. It is possible that Taco John’s was also aware of this fact and thus stopped the legal battle.
A thorough trademark investigation and trademark litigation search would be a useful tool to deploy to uncover this type of information.