It was a little over two months ago when we here at Guilty Eats reported that Taco Bell was pursuing legal action against Taco John’s to remove the trademark on the phrase Taco Tuesday. Apparently they felt that everyone should be able to celebrate having tacos in the middle of the week.
At the time, Taco John’s was adamant that they were going to defend it in court and win. It was just another layer to the long history of taco warfare between the to arch rivals.
(As we said a few months ago, we really don’t know if Taco John’s and Taco Bell are arch rivals, but it makes for a much better story if they are. Imagine two factions going into combat with burritos and soft tacos. Oh the horror!)
Well, it is being reported that the whole situation has been resolved and that Taco Tuesday has now been liberated for all to use.
Taco John’s decided the matter wasn’t worth the money it would take to fight
In the end, like most things, it came down to simple economics. Taco John’s just decided that the cost of defending the trademark in court, which could have cost millions of dollars, just wasn’t worth it. Especially considering how much bigger Taco Bell is compared to the smaller regional chain.
Hey @tacobell ...you’re getting your wish! You can celebrate Taco Tuesday now without any pushback from us. And we’re hoping you’ll put your money where your mouth is and join us in contributing to @COREGives 🌮🌮🌮
— tacojohns (@tacojohns) July 18, 2023
Read more here: https://t.co/QD5p9BgB0x
Taco John’s CEO Jim Creel announced the decision and decided to use the matter as a chance to also do some good.
"“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. As we’ve said before, we’re lovers, not fighters, at Taco John’s. So in that spirit, we have decided to begin sharing Taco Tuesday with a pledge to contribute $100 per location in our system to restaurant employees with children who are battling a health crisis, death or natural disaster.”"
He also managed to get in a good natured shot at The Bell, who started this whole thing in the first place.
"“Let’s see if our friends at Taco Bell are willing to ‘liberate’ themselves from their army of lawyers by giving back to restaurant families instead. We challenge them to match our $100-per-restaurant pledge – that’s about $720,000 – which is less than they’d have to spend in a legal battle for the mark.”"
Kudos to Taco John’s for taking the high road. Let’s see if Taco Bell steps up to the challenge.
What do you think Guilty Eaters? Are you glad to see that Taco Tuesday has been liberated? Leave a comment below and let us know or join the conversation on our Twitter and Facebook pages.