Recently, Taco Bell was trying to "liberate" the trademark Taco John's put on Taco Tuesday in, um, 1989. A little late to the party, but whatever. Anyway, the competing food chains squabbled a bit, got some free press, and everyone was happy, right? Not exactly. Now Jack in the Box, which also sells tacos, wants in. The chain is now trying to trademark a phrase of its own: Taco Tuesnight.
Catchy, huh? The chain said in a statement: "In a not-so-subtle response to Taco Bell’s latest hissy fit, Jack in the Box is focusing on the late-night crowd — because those who know Jack, know tacos hit different after dark." Still think they could have come up with something better, but game on, I guess.
@theipprofessor As many of you know by now, @tacobell is taking proactive measures to terminate the trademark rights of “Taco Tuesday” that belongs to another taco restaurant @TacoJohns. The argument that Taco Bell makes is that “Taco Tuesday” should belong to the people in the public domain. I do think there’s an argument to make that “Taco Tuesday” is too generic, thus making the once viable trademark a victim of genericide, but I’ll save that discussion for another video. That said, a funny headline from multiple news outlets came out suggesting another quick service restaurant @Jack in the Box has entered the “Taco Tuesday” trademark battle. According to these reports, Jack in the Box has begun the process of registering a trademark for “Taco Tuesnight.”even Jack in the Box’s social media posts suggest the trademark process is under way. However, a simple search on the USPTO website shows no active trademark applications for “Taco Tuesnight”…YET. If Jack in the Box is in fact looking to trademark “Taco Tuesnight” in the USPTO, this is a classic case of trolling. And if not, they’re still trolling Taco Bell pretty hard. 😂 #TheIPProfessor #IntellectualProperty #Trademark #TrademarkLaw #TrademarkRegistration #TrademarkTermination #TacoTuesday #TacoBell #TacoJohns #JackInTheBox #TacoTuesnight #LawSchool #LawStudent #LawProfessor #LawTok ♬ original sound - Youknow
Meanwhile, Taco Bell has brought out the big guns in its fight to "free" Taco Tuesday. The chain hired basketball icon LeBron James for an ad, which hit airwaves this week, bleeping his use of Taco Tuesday while he demands its freedom from trademark. “‘Taco Tuesday’ is a tradition that everyone should be able to celebrate. All restaurants, all families, all businesses – everybody,” James said in a statement. “‘Taco Tuesdays’ create opportunities that bring people together in so many ways, and it’s a celebration that nobody should own.”
Taco Bell — aka the Stunt Queen of Fast Food Land — has even started a petition for those who care deeply about this.
Before anyone pickets Taco John's, though, it might be a good time to point out that Taco John's has about 400 locations, while Taco Bell has over 15,600 in the U.S. alone, not to mention its international locations (in the middle is Jack in the Box, with 2,187).
If anyone is the bully here, I'm looking at you, Taco Bell.
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