Trademarking ‘Taco Tuesday’ a tough task

Trademarking ‘Taco Tuesday’ a tough task

Posted by: Business Law - Bill Northcote , February 16, 2018

A large chain of taco restaurants will have a tough time trying to keep others from using “Taco Tuesday,” Toronto business lawyer Bill Northcote tells Metro News.

Claiming it has a trademark on the phrase, the fast-food giant recently told a Calgary taco restaurant to stop using it to advertise its weekly half-priced specials, says the publication.

Northcote, chair of Shibley Righton LLP’s business law group, says the fast-food giant doesn't actually have a registered trademark on “Taco Tuesday” — just the Tuesday part.

“The word taco was disclaimed because it is descriptive of the services (selling tacos),” he says.

According to the report, the chain trademarked “Taco Tuesday” in 1997. The company sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Calgary restaurant last Friday, demanding they stop using the slogan. The company plans to comply, says the report.

Northcote and other trademark lawyers say there’s a good chance the chain wouldn’t win if a legal challenge were to be launched.

While the moniker may have been trademarked in 1997, several lawyers tell Metro News that it has become “genericized” over the years through widespread use. In order to be enforced, they say, a trademark has to be distinctive.