CNN Discusses Updates to the “Taco Tuesday” Trademark Case with Josh Gerben

In May 2023, Taco Bell filed a Petition to Cancel the trademark registration for “Taco Tuesday.” The owners of the registrations, Taco John’s and The Gregory Hotel have submitted responses to the filing.

CNN and Josh Gerben spoke about the how the “Taco Tuesday” case will likely proceed. 

“Taco Bell scored an early press relations victory by the well-coordinated roll-out of the cancellation actions, but now the case gets real,” Josh Gerben told CNN.

The next step in the legal process is the discovery phase. Taco Bell will likely “conduct a survey to determine what portion of the American public associated Taco Tuesday with either trademark owner, versus the phrase being a more general custom associated with eating tacos on Tuesdays,” he said.

Gerben believes that it’s also likely that the Taco John’s and The Gregory Hotel will conduct their own investigation, to see whether or not Taco Bell has been “attempting to assist other restaurants or celebrities to use Taco Tuesday in attempt to invalidate their trademark rights.”

This case could take about two years to be resolved and Gerben doesn’t expect settlement.

“This is not going to be something where Taco Bel is going to be able to declare victory anytime soon,” he said.

Source: Valinsky, Jordan. https://www.cnn.com. “Taco John’s responds to Taco Bell’s Taco Tuesday lawsuit”. 26 June 2023.