mobile app bar

LeBron James’ attempt at trademarking “Taco Tuesday” and capitalizing it, was met with failure

Advait Jajodia
Published

LeBron James’ religion: What are Lakers star’s religious beliefs and how it has helped him in his NBA career

LeBron James is famous for many things – being a successful athlete, an intelligent businessman, a loving family man… and even his “Taco Tuesday” chants.

LeBron James is one of the most iconic athletes the sporting world has witnessed. The Los Angeles Lakers megastar has managed to dominate the NBA since he stepped on the hardwood back in 2003. Since then, Bron has added almost all accolades to his overly-stacked resume. The King’s illustrious trophy cabinet includes 18 All-Star appearances, 18 All-NBA selections, 4 MVPs, 4 championships, and 4 Finals MVPs, among several other achievements.

Over the years, LBJ has become one of the most famous individuals. There have also been numerous doings of his that have now become iconic – his pregame chalk toss, and the “silencer”  celebration, among several others.

In more recent history, the 6-foot-9 forward made the “Taco Tuesday” chant famous.

What is this chant, you may ask? Well, whenever the James family ate tacos, on a Tuesday, the NBA icon would take to his Instagram story and hysterically scream “Taco Tuesday”.

Also Read: LeBron James is evaluating life after NBA

The chant was accepted by the fans and they even decided to imitate King James for the same. It grew so much on people that LeBron and his team decided to try and trademark the phrase.

The USPTO rejected LeBron James’ request of trademarking “Taco Tuesday”

Back in 2019, The United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected Bron’s attempt of getting “Taco Tuesday” trademarked. Calling it a “commonplace term”, the USPTO further reasoned:

“The applied-for mark is a commonplace term, message, or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment message.”

The rejection didn’t dishearten Bron and co. Instead, a spokesperson from LBJ’s team stated that the decision offered what the team wanted in the first place. The spokesperson explained to ESPN:

“Finding ‘Taco Tuesday’ as commonplace achieves precisely what the intended outcome was, which was getting the U.S. government to recognize that someone cannot be sued for its use.”

“If this opens the door for ‘Taco Tuesday’ to be open to everybody, all the better,” the spokesman said. “That would be a great outcome of this. The entire purpose of this is to protect Lebron and subsequently everybody else.”

What does this exactly mean?

LeBron James can do all the “Taco Tuesday” he wants to and no one can sue him for the same.

Also Read: Magic Johnson, who feared losing $10 million, waited outside LeBron James’ house to recruit him

About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia

x-iconinstagram-iconlinkedin-icon

Advait Jajodia, a seasoned NBA journalist, has had a passion for the game for over a decade. His journey from admiring Kobe Bryant's precision to being in awe of Stephen Curry's long-range mastery instilled a profound understanding of basketball. With a background as a two-time National-level player, Advait uses his experience on the hardwood to offer insightful analysis. Over three years of dedicated sports journalism has equipped the 21-year-old with a unique perspective, reflected in his prolific portfolio of 3,350+ articles.

Read more from Advait Jajodia

Share this article