Irvine-based Taco Bell Wednesday hailed fast food chain Taco John’s decision to abandon its longtime ownership of the phrase “Taco Tuesday,” allowing the wording to be used freely by “all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos.”
The phrase had been a registered trademark of Taco John’s for 34 years. However, Taco Bell filed a petition in May with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office to cancel the mark, arguing that the wording should be freely available.
Taco John’s CEO Jim Creel said on Tuesday that the company was ending the beef because it doesn’t want to pay the legal fees that would result from a fight against Taco Bell.
“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,” Creel said in a statement. “As we’ve said before, we’re lovers, not fighters, at Taco John’s.”
Taco Bell CEO Mark King called the decision “a shared victory with taco allies everywhere” and thanked Taco John’s “for recognizing what we’ve known all along — when tacos win, we all win.”
King said Taco John’s decision “to join the movement and liberate Taco Tuesday means countless businesses big and small, restaurants, and taco vendors can now embrace, celebrate and champion `Taco Tuesdays’ freely. However, celebration is nothing without recognition and reflection.”