TacoTuesday.com Breaks Silence on Taco Bell's Taco Tuesday Legal Battle

By Adam Barnhardt

Another fighter has entered the Taco Tuesday battle. Wednesday, the OC Restaurant Association released a statement in which it aligned itself with Taco Bell in slamming Taco John's latest filing regarding the "Taco Tuesday" trademark. The OC Restaurant Association, which owns TacoTuesday.com, says the first documented usage of the saying was first seen in 1933, 35 years before Taco John's launched its first restaurant.

"This is not about asking the trademark holder to stop celebrating Taco Tuesday, we're asking them to use common sense and recognize that since their trademark was granted, the term has grown well beyond them. Millions of people celebrate Taco Tuesday across the country, in restaurants and at home, and have the right to do so," Pamela Waitt, founder of TacoTuesday.com, says in the release. "Having 'Taco Tuesday' trademarked today can be likened to someone owning 'Happy Hour' or 'Sunday Brunch.' We are here to amplify the voices of our restaurant industry friends across the country who celebrate Taco Tuesday, and all the taco loving fans who visit them on Tuesday, or any day of the week – we are in this together."

According to the Association's own research, a whopping 58-percent of Americans are aware of the "Taco Tuesday" saying while 42-percent have said they've personally celebrated it in some shape, way, or form.

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"The love for Taco Tuesdays is strong – I personally have been enjoying Taco Tuesday since middle school and that was before 1989. Taco Tuesday has simply existed long before the trademark," adds Waitt. "I am at a loss for understanding why anyone would want to stop diners and restaurants from this fun weekly celebration when it accomplishes so much good. Nearly 100,000 restaurants already celebrate Taco Tuesday and Taco Johns has not suffered from it. They could be the good guys and support their fellow restaurateurs. Our hope is that the nation's collective love for tacos will bring us together, not limit or divide us."

The problem first came to a head in May when Taco Bell announced its intentions to lobby the United States Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the "Taco Tuesday" trademark currently in effect. The trademark is owned by the parent company of Taco John's, a regional TexMex chain based in the northern United States, and Taco Bell is seeking to make the phrase usable by any business, no matter how small or large.

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