The long-standing dispute over the ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark has come to an anticlimactic close as Taco John’s, a Wyoming-based “West-Mex” restaurant chain, has decided to give up its claim to the popular catchphrase.
Taco John’s, who has owned the trademark for more than 40 years, made the announcement on Tuesday, freeing competitors to use the phrase without restriction.
In an interesting twist, Taco John’s challenged Taco Bell and LeBron James, both of whom had previously contested the trademark, to redirect funds that would have gone towards a prolonged legal battle into charitable donations instead.
Taco John’s is donating $100 per restaurant location, totalling $40,000, to the non-profit organization Children of Restaurant Employees.
“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 CEO Jim Creel said.
Creel also challenged Taco Bell to donate $100 per restaurant location, approximately $720,000, which he said would be less than what the company would spend in court.
The decision to relinquish the trademark suggests that Taco John’s was likely to lose the legal battle. However, the company maintains that it will always be the original home of ‘Taco Tuesday’, a claim only solidified by the trademark dispute.