LeBron James struck out trying to trademark “Taco Tuesday.” Now he thinks no one should have it.
On May 16, Taco Bell announced they were asking the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to revoke the trademark of “Taco Tuesday.” That’s been a registered trademark of the Taco John’s chain of restaurants since 1989, except for in the state of New Jersey.
Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar in Somers Point, New Jersey got a federal trademark for “Taco Tuesday” back in 1982. Those never expire, but the trademark holder has to periodically renew the trademark, proving they were still using “Taco Tuesday.”
When Gregory’s was late in their renewal in 1989, Taco John’s — who’d also been using the phrase since 1979 — swooped in and grabbed the trademark. (Gregory’s retained the trademark for the state of New Jersey only.)
This week, Taco Bell announced James would appear in a commercial about the phrase, and noted his support in a press release.
“‘Taco Tuesday’ is a tradition that everyone should be able to celebrate. All restaurants, all families, all businesses – everybody,” said James in the press release. “‘Taco Tuesdays’ create opportunities that bring people together in so many ways, and it’s a celebration that nobody should own.”
That was very different from his take in 2019, when James decided that Taco Tuesday was a celebration that he should own. He applied for his own trademark on “Taco Tuesday,” after posting a series of videos of himself eating tacos with family, friends and teammates where he shouted, “It’s Taco Tuesday!”
When James tried to trademark the phrase so he could monetize the videos and sell t-shirts, the US Patent & Trademark Office denied his application, calling “Taco Tuesday” a “commonplace term.” Of course, the trademark had also been owned by someone else for 30 years.
Now, James is positioning himself as a liberator of Taco Tuesday, but it honestly feels like sour grapes from a man who tried to trademark a phrase he didn’t make up or popularize, nearly four decades after someone else trademarked it.
James and the Lakers are down 3-0 in the Western Conference Finals, which resume Monday night. If James is more focused on legal battles than basketball, then this Tuesday he’ll be free to eat however many tacos he wants.
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