LeBron James’ Trademark Application for “Taco Tuesday” Denied (UPDATE)

UPDATE (September 11, 2019): Following the announcement earlier this month that Lebron James had applied to trademark “Taco Tuesday,” the United States Patent and Trademark Office has officially shut down the athlete’s request.

According to Josh Gerben of Gerben Law Firm, the office argued that the phrase cannot “function as a trademark” due to it being a “commonplace message.” Gerben also pointed out that a trademark for “Techno Taco Tuesday” is already in place, with an Illinois-based company named Taco Tuesday, Inc. also disputing the trademark application because the restaurant “specializes in taco sales.” You can check out Gerben’s full legal analysis of the decision below.

James’ company, LBJ Trademarks LLC, initially hoped to use the phrase for a variety of “online entertainment services” including podcasts, social media posts, and more, causing a viral social media stir earlier this month surrounding the popular food phrase.

ORIGINAL STORY (September 1, 2019): LeBron James has been taking to social media to post videos of his “Taco Tuesday” celebration that he has with his family along with other special guests. Some of those guests that pulled up included Anthony Davis and more. Now, James is looking to file a trademark for the phrase.

A lawyer revealed via Twitter that LeBron’s company LBJ Trademarks LLC filed a trademark for Taco Tuesday as he intends to launch a podcast under the same name. The application said that James was seeking the rights for “advertising and marketing services provided by means of indirect methods of marketing, communications, namely, social media, search engine marketing, inquiry marketing, mobile marketing, blogging and other forms of passive, shareable or viral communications channels.”

While this is not the first time James has shown the world his love for tacos, it does prove to be an interesting direction for him as he ventures in businesses outside of the sport of basketball.