Taco Bell's effort to 'liberate' Taco Tuesday nationwide comes to fruition

I see this as a win. It's absurd that anyone can own the term Taco Tuesday. It's literally a noun and a day of the week
- Do you not remember the youtube drama over someone claiming the word "react"?
  That was only 1 word...
- I'm really surprised that this is the top post here.
  It's not just a noun and a day of the week. It's a noun and a day of the week used to formally sell tacos.
  This is Taco Bell using its size and wealth to take something from smaller players so that it could make money with it.
  And the smallest players have always had absolutely nothing to worry about. Part of trademark law is that you must defend it. That can be just a letter.
  
  Everyone can now use "Taco Tuesday" without risk of being sued. Don't overthink it.
  
  This is Taco Bell using its size and wealth to take something from smaller players so that it could make money with it.
  This is bullshit. The other companies can claim that they're abandoning their marks due to cost but the truth of the matter is these marks should not have been issued. Neither were the first to use "Taco Tuesday." The phrase "Taco Tuesday" has entered everyday parlance. Unless you live near one of these restaurants you may not even know they run a "Taco Tuesday" and, most important of all, you may not even realize that they have a trademark on the term because it's so generic.
  And that's the real issue, and the reason they abandoned the mark. Any IP attorney would have looked at this told them it was a complete waste of money to defend because they never should have been granted the marks in the first place.
- I see this as an absolute win!
- Apple's lawyers would like a word.
  
  Company names are a bit different
- I think the names of restaurants are a bit different

It’s Tuesday.
I know how I’m celebrating.
But not at Taco Hell.

My favorite bar here in town has a letter from Taco John's framed on the wall explaining why they had to change the name of their weekly taco special.

Because of their prices I'd basically given up on Taco Bell except for the value menu. But now every item that was $1 jumped to $1.5 (and everything else went up with it) so I'm cutting out Taco Bell completely. A few months back one of their limited time offers was $5 but when ordered à la carte was $12.47 -- that kinda revealed just how (unreasonably) skewed their profit margins must be.
- It used to be $5-10 to feel gross and full, now it's $15-20 and takes 15 minutes both inside or drive through. I haven't been back in a couple years because of price and incompetence, there's better options for cheaper and quicker. Sheetz the gas station has been nailing Amerimexican for years if you're north east.
  
  My local gas station attached Mexican joint has been cranking out local amazing cuisine for years, I would literally never even consider Taco Bell
- Taco Bell has stayed the cheapest food place for as long as I've known.
  
  It's like $12 for a crunchwrap meal in my super low CoL town. Wemdy's still has their $5 buggie bag. I used to love Taco Bell but it now costs more than freaking Chipotle.
  
  I still love the food, but Taco Bell is one of the most expensive fast food places around me.
  They never have deals. Everyone else has something like a 2 for $6 and/or they offer good coupons.
- I only go when I want to have the specific flavor profile they create. If I want actual Mexican food, they're my absolute last option
- Yeah but that Breakfast Steak Crunchwrap with extra creamy jalapeño sauce…
  Greatest fast food breakfast item. And I’ve eaten an embarrassing amount of fast food breakfast.
- The McDonald's app always has pretty good deals. 2 spicy chicken for $3 right now.
  
  The over-reliance on apps and the privacy/security implications that entails is a separate issue for me. I also don't have the Google Play Store (or the associated underlying services) that all the apps require to function on my phone (CalyxOS). Comcast was decertifying my ancient modem so I finally bought a new one. When I needed to swap the hardware id info over and called their support line all of their workflows now apparently rely on using their app. When I told them it was between them supplying me with a vanilla smartphone or me cancelling my service because I didn't own any devices that supported their app they were then magically able to just update some fields in their database and my modem was set-up with no mobile phones or apps involved. I've had a passion for technology my entire life but its current predatory and user hostile default state just makes me hate it.

In Scandinavia it's Taco Friday. Who has the rights to that? Who needs to get sued? Who should we be mad at?
As far as I know, nobody. They understand the social good. And they celebrate it with tacos promptly when the workday ends at 4 PM.

Alert the Munch Squad.
- I wanna munch!
  
  Squad
- Justin did a segment on this not long ago that had me in stitches
- Hell yeah, happy to see some other MBMBAM fans on lemmy

Fuck Taco Bell. Taco Bell only won because Taco John's didn't have deep enough pockets to defend the trademarked term they legally had.
- Look, fuck the gross Yum Brands mega conglomerate, but the idea that someone could own the trademark to "Taco Tuesday" is fucking ridiculous.
  
  Welcome to the US, where the rules are made up and the goalposts are set by the deepest pockets.
  
  What makes it fucking stupid? Is it because it reaches a critical mass of usage, so the people get to take it back? Something else?
  As an aside, I have a new product idea: Zoidberg’s Super Bowl of Cereal: I’m Lovin’ It!
- No, Taco Bell won because WHO THE FUCK IS TACO JOHN'S AND WHY THE FUCK DO THEY OWN TACO TUESDAY?
  Did you know that two companies had ownership of that trademark? Does anyone associate "Taco Tuesday" with anything but being alliterative? Do people immediately think of Taco John's or Gregory's when they hear "Taco Tuesday?"
  No.
  They probably think of every elementary school that had a Taco Tuesday at least once a month. They probably think of the Lego Movie. They probably think they're hilarious and just made it up for the first time.
  Even if you knew of Taco John's and knew they had Taco Tuesday, did you know that it was their trademark?
  Taco John's did not relinquish the mark because they couldn't fight it. They relinquished it for the same reason Gregory's did... they knew their claim to the mark was MINIMAL at best and it would be trivial to show common usage of the term that would render it generic.
  
  I actually do think of Taco John's when I think of Taco Tuesday because that was their big special thing for decades.
  But I also don't care if 'Taco Tuesday' is something you can trademark. If Taco Bell wants to use it, fine.
  
  Everyone knew except idiots like you hahahah
- They should have never been granted the trademark based on prioriry. They did not coin or use the term first. They are not fighting because they know they wouldn't survive a challenge which is why they just bullied small shops who themselves didn't have the pockets to defend themselves.
  
  I don't think that's what happened? Based on this article and another one I read, it seems that now the Taco Tuesday trademark is relinquished meaning anyone can use it. I'm guessing taco bell would rather everyone be able to use it including them rather than it being locked down by someone who's not them.
- Do you really want Taco John's to hold the usage rights to 'taco Tuesday'?

The film Demolition Man is slowly developing to become prophetic.
- Fyi, outside the USA, the film replaced Taco Bell with Pizza Hutt.
  
  Which is still the same company.
  
  Same thing.
  (Seriously)

I don’t feel like this is something we should celebrate. Idk
- Taco Bell may not be the hero we want, but having a trademark on “Taco Tuesday” is insane and I’m glad they won
- what's bad about it??
  
  I read that article as a large corporation bullied a small company into getting rid of their trademark. I could be wrong