---
title: "Your Next Taco Tuesday Could Be a Case for a Cease-and-Desist"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/1a264ddb-33b4-46af-b7d4-591e459d11c0
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/your-next-taco-tuesday-could-be-a-case-for-a-cease-and-desist-2710741
category: "Mexican"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Mexican"
published: 2019-08-15T18:13:41.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:25:32.678Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/f6ab32e0c0312a2e4ded76f1787ae4013659.jpg
---

# Your Next Taco Tuesday Could Be a Case for a Cease-and-Desist

**TL;DR:** Taco John's has owned the trademark for 'Taco Tuesday' for 30 years and has sent hundreds of cease-and-desist letters to competitors. The company is steadfast in its defense of the trademark, with its chief marketing officer saying it is part of the brand's 'DNA'.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-08-15. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/your-next-taco-tuesday-could-be-a-case-for-a-cease-and-desist-2710741).*

## Story

Wildly popular throughout the U.S., “Taco Tuesday” specials can be found at a myriad of restaurants from mom-and-pop taquerias to big-name brands.

However, for the past 30 years, 400-unit quick-service restaurant chain Taco John’s has owned the trademark of the phrase. Akin to when Kylie Jenner tried to trademark the name “Kylie” , the legal ownership of “Taco Tuesday” reminds us that there are in fact countless words and phrases that exist within the common American vernacular that are trademarked. For decades, Taco John’s has been quietly defending its claim to the phrase with “hundreds” of cease-and-desist letters to competitors.

Most recently, Taco John’s contacted Freedom’s Edge Brewing Company, a brewery close to the brand’s headquarters in Wyoming which had adopted the phrase. “We certainly appreciate our fellow community member’s enthusiasm for tacos on Tuesday and the term is often used inadvertently,” said a letter from Taco John’s reported by Eater. “However, it is still extremely important to us to protect our rights in this mark.”

“It’s kind of asinine to me think that one particular taco seller, or taco maker, would have monopoly rights over ‘Taco Tuesday,’” said Seattle-based lawyer Michael Atkins to the Associated Press. Still, Taco John’s is steadfast in its defense of the trademark. The brand’s chief marketing officer Billie Jo Waara has gone so far as to say that it is part of the brand’s “DNA”.

While Taco John’s legal team seems slightly more lax than Taylor Swift’s , competitors may want to play it safe lest they get slammed with another cease-and-desist. Read the full story here.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Taco John's (company)
- brand protection (topic)
- taco tuesday (topic)
- trademark dispute (topic)
- cease-and-desist letters (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/your-next-taco-tuesday-could-be-a-case-for-a-cease-and-desist-2710741). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/1a264ddb-33b4-46af-b7d4-591e459d11c0).