Taco Bell files petition to end trademark to "Taco Tuesday"

LEFT: A Taco Bell just before being rebuilt | RIGHT: A Taco Johns at night - The Retail Photographer

Taco Bell has filed a petition to end the trademark to Taco Johns' "Taco Tuesday," a phrase that is argued to have become a mainstream common term that everybody uses.

What's happening and about the two companies

Taco Bell is an international chain of taco restaurants owned by parent company YUM! Brands headquartered out of Louisville, KY. Taco Johns is a smaller chain of taco restaurants based out of Cheyenne, WY with locations mainly in the areas of the zones of Mountain Time and Central Time.

It turns out that the phrase "Taco Tuesday" originally was coined as "Taco Twosday," in an attempt to increase sales of tacos on the slowest day of the week. It was tweaked to "Taco Tuesday" when, according to Steve Lehto from Lehto's Law, Taco Johns filed for a trademark in 1989. As mentioned on CNN, Taco Bell filed a petition to end the trademark last Tuesday, claiming the phrase "Taco Tuesday" as 'commonly used.'

In response to finding out about Taco Bell's petition, Taco Johns is currently offering a Taco Tuesday deal until May 31st where customers can order through the Taco Johns app two tacos for two dollars every day until May 31st.

Taco Johns has forty days to file a response to the petition which was filed with a part of the US Patent and Trademark Association, and it may take up to two years before a decision on the trademark of "Taco Tuesday" is issued.