LeBron James’ attempt to trademark Taco Tuesday has been denied

The NBA star frequently uses the phrase with his family, and apparently attempted to trademark it. The US Patent and Trademark office denied his claim on Wednesday, according to lawyer Josh Gerben.

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.

Insider on LeBron’s team said NBA Star wasn’t trying to trademark Taco Tuesday so he could wholly own it. His team was trying to trademark it to legally protect him from being sued if he used phrase in future projects. Refusal isn’t end, team will seek further clarification.

James was exposed in the fact that Taco Tuesday is currently trademarked by Taco John’s. The team of James, like any business mogul, regularly files trademark applications to limit exposure based on interests they intend to pursue.