It is apparently not commonly known, but the phrase "Taco Tuesday" is a registered trademark of Taco John's, a restaurant chain based out of Wyoming. Why is it then that in 2019, when Lebron James tried to trademark "Taco Tuesday" for himself, that he was denied not due to the similarity to Taco John's trademark, but rather because it was deemed to common on a phrase to trademark?



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> In this case, 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.
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[USPTO Application 88579771](https://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn88579771&docId=OOA20190911#docIndex=1&page=1&tdrlink=)


It is expressed later on in the application that it was also considered to be to similar to "*TECHNO* TACO TUESDAY", and that allowing such a mark could detract from people search for the aforementioned term.



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> Although applicant’s mark does not contain the entirety of the registered mark, applicant’s mark is likely to appear to prospective purchasers as a shortened form of registrant’s mark.
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What I don't understand, though, is that nowhere in the application does it mention Taco John's already existing claim on Taco Tuesday. Since the company does still attempt to enforce its claim on the mark, including sending cease-and-desists to offenders, it seems odd that LBJ Trademarks LLC. was denied the claim due, in no small part, to how common the phrase is in the American lexicon, and not because it was already claimed.



Why couldn't LBJ Trademarks claim "Taco Tuesday" due to common usage?