LeBron James is as much of an unstoppable force in the business world as he is on a basketball court.
The man has willed his way to becoming the star of the sequel to ‘Space Jam’, he has his own HBO show ‘The Shop’, and he has a billion-dollar deal with Nike. That only scratches the surface of his reach throughout the business and entertainment world. However, it’s being reported by Josh Gerben (a trademark lawyer) that LeBron’s most recent business venture has been denied. That business venture was, of course, trying to trademark the term “Taco Tuesday” for himself after his series of Instagram stories with his family went viral.
The USPTO has refused the TACO TUESDAY trademark application filed by Lebron James' company LBJ Trademarks, LLC.
The refusal, issued at 6:26 PM today, finds that TACO TUESDAY is a "commonplace message" and therefore fails to function as a trademark.#TacoTuesday
My analysis👇 pic.twitter.com/eKcW2l1CnH
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) September 12, 2019
Many laughed when the news initially came out that LeBron was trying to trademark the term. It’s no secret that LeBron didn’t make this up himself, as school cafeterias and Mexican restaurants have been promoting Taco Tuesdays for years. The United States Patent and Trademark Office seemed to share this thought, as they declined the request due to “Taco Tuesday” being a “commonplace message”. I mean, what’s next, Stephen Curry trying to trademark the term “Splash”?
If someone deserved to trademark the term though, it was LeBron, as his Instagram stories have taken on a life of their own. Lil’ Jon even made a song about the viral sensation.
Alas, LeBron James will just have to take (one of his few) L’s on this one as he won’t be able to fully capitalize on the craze.