Taco Bell frees 'Taco Tuesday' from all trademark restrictions 'effective immediately'
Restaurants across America can now freely use the phrase "Taco Tuesday" without risking enforcement of a local New Jersey restaurant's trademark over the phrase, The Washington Post reports.
Taco Bell has spent the last year waging a legal battle to liberate the phrase, with national chain Taco John's holding the trademark in 49 states, and Gregory's Restaurant & Bar in Somers Point, New Jersey owning the rights to "Taco Tuesday" in New Jersey. Taco John's relinquished its rights over the phrase in July, making Gregory's the last holdout. On Wednesday, Gregory's, too, chose to let go of its own claim over the phrase, according to the Post.
"Thanks to Gregory’s choice to relinquish the trademark registration, New Jersey businesses and fans can fully enjoy Taco Tuesday, effective immediately,” said Taco Bell chief global brand and strategy officer Sean Tresvant (and incoming CEO) in a public statement.
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Gregory's, for its part, held the "Taco Tuesday" trademark rights for more than 40 years, marketed itself as "the birthplace of Taco Tuesday," and cast itself as a scrappy underdog in its legal battle with Taco Bell. However, Taco Bell argued that the phrase had become ubiquitous and should be free for everyone to use. In legal filings, the restaurant chain noted that other trademarked words like "escalator," "aspirin" and "Yo-Yo" were rendered trademark-free by the courts due to how commonly they were used.
In its initial statement of facts when first fighting Taco John's trademark rights, Taco Bell insisted that any company insisting on proprietary ownership of the alliterative phrase was "not cool."
"People like tacos on Tuesdays. They just do. It’s even fun to say: 'Taco Tuesday,'" the company argued. "Tacos have the unique ability to bring people together and bring joy to their lives on an otherwise mediocre day of the week. But since 1989, entities associated with Registrant have owned a federal trademark registration for 'Taco Tuesday.' Not cool."
Gregory's, for its part, says its Taco Tuesday weekly offerings will continue despite losing its trademark rights.
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