Every Tuesday, you can tune in to Lebron James’s Instagram to see him enjoying Taco Tuesdays with his family. It has become such a staple of his social media presence that he recently filed a trademark application for “TACO TUESDAY” through his company, LBJ Trademarks LLC. However, his application was rejected as the phrase was deemed “a commonplace term, message or expression widely used by a variety of sources.”
His application originally raised objections from Taco John’s, a US-based fast-food restaurant, which registered the trademark in 1989. Taco John’s is rather protective over its trademark, even attacking a brewery for using the term to advertise a taco truck that parks outside its own establishment.
James could still respond to the rejection with added or adjusted language within six months.
Authors: Jaclyn Tilak and Zach Hershenfeld, 2019/2020 Articling Student-at-law
Photo Credits: https://unsplash.com/@christine_siracusa
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