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Caltech previously won a verdict of more than $1.1 billion from Apple and Broadcom in the case that was later overturned. The potential settlement was disclosed in a court document filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles without further details following a telephone conference. The court ordered the parties to file a joint status report by Aug. 18. Pasadena, California-based Caltech sued Apple and Broadcom in 2016, alleging that millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and other Apple devices using Broadcom chips infringed its wireless-communication patents. A jury ordered Apple to pay $837.8 million and Broadcom to pay $270.2 million in patent-infringement damages in 2020.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Apple, Blake Brittain, David Bario, Leslie Adler Organizations: Broadcom, REUTERS, California Institute of Technology, Apple, Caltech, Court, Samsung, Microsoft, Dell, HP, Thomson Locations: U.S, Los Angeles, Pasadena , California, Texas, Washington

Here are key facts about Chutkan’s background and rulings:OBAMA APPOINTEEChutkan was nominated as a federal judge by President Barack Obama in 2013. She previously served as a public defender in Washington, D.C. representing indigent defendants in criminal cases. “Presidents are not kings, and plaintiff is not president,” Chutkan wrote in her ruling, which was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. She is among judges in D.C. federal court who have spurned some recommendations from prosecutors for lesser punishments. She was the third Black woman to serve as a federal judge in the Washington, D.C. federal trial court when she was confirmed.

Persons: Donald Trump, Lindsay DeDario, Boies, Boies Schiller Flexner, Tanya Chutkan, Trump, OBAMA, Chutkan, Barack Obama, Boies Schiller, Schiller, Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, ” Chutkan, Andrew Goudsward, David Bario, Michael Perry Organizations: U.S, Republican, REUTERS, Boies Schiller, Capitol, U.S . Senate, TRUMP, Trump, ., White, Supreme, U.S . Capitol, George Washington University, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Thomson Locations: Erie , Pennsylvania, U.S, Washington ,, JAMAICA, Kingston , Jamaica, Washington

☆ Can Trump use political donations to pay for legal defense?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Andrew Goudsward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Leadership PACs, such as Trump's Save America committee, raise money from donors to support political campaigns in the United States. The committees are set up and controlled by lawmakers or other political leaders, but are not connected to the candidate’s campaign. CAN LEADERSHIP PACS BE USED TO PAY LEGAL FEES? However, leadership PACs such as Save America also are not allowed to directly support their own candidate's campaign. A Trump spokesman said the legal payments were made in "accordance with the law and upon the advice of counsel."

Persons: Donald Trump, Amr Alfiky, Donald Trump's, Trump, Democrat Joe Biden, Richard Briffault, Andrew Goudsward, Jason Lange, David Bario, Matthew Lewis, Gerry Doyle Organizations: U.S, Trump National Golf Club, REUTERS, Former U.S, Trump, Leadership, Save, Congress, Federal, Commission, AMERICA, Republican, Save America PAC, Democrat, BE, Columbia Law School, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Bedminster , New Jersey, U.S, Former, United States, America, Washington

The lawsuit filed on Monday said Kante is entitled to more than $20 million in profit from the infringing music. Representatives for Kante, Lipa and WMG did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Kante's website said he has played the Talk Box on songs by musicians including rappers Kanye West, Big Boi and J. Cole. The lawsuit said producer Stephen Kozmeniuk approached Kante in 2019 about creating a talk-box track to use on "Levitating." "Levitating" was released on Dua Lipa's hit 2020 album "Future Nostalgia."

Persons: Singer Dua Lipa, Florion, Bosko Kante, Kante, Lipa's, WMG, Lipa, Sandy Linzer, Russell Brown, Kanye, Big, J, Cole, Stephen Kozmeniuk, DJ, Madonna, Missy Elliott, DaBaby, Blake Brittain, David Bario, Richard Chang Organizations: Singer Dua, Skanderbeg, REUTERS, Warner Music Group, Kante, Thomson Locations: Tirana, Albania, Dua Lipa, Los Angeles, British, Lipa, Washington

☆ Explainer: Can Trump use political donations to pay for legal defense?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Andrew Goudsward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Leadership PACs, such as Trump's Save America committee, raise money from donors to support political campaigns in the United States. The committees are set up and controlled by lawmakers or other political leaders, but are not connected to the candidate’s campaign. Unlike super PACs, which can raise unlimited sums from companies, unions and individuals, individual donors may contribute no more than $5,000 a year to leadership PACs. CAN LEADERSHIP PACS BE USED TO PAY LEGAL FEES? However, leadership PACs such as Save America also are not allowed to directly support their own candidate's campaign.

July 26 (Reuters) - Rudy Giuliani, onetime attorney for former U.S. President Donald Trump, admitted in a court filing late Tuesday that he made defamatory statements about a pair of Georgia election workers. No evidence supports such claims, which have been repeatedly debunked by Georgia election officials. Freeman and Moss are seeking sanctions against Giuliani, alleging he failed to preserve important evidence. Tuesday's court document said Giuliani wants "to avoid unnecessary expenses in litigating what he believes to be unnecessary disputes." He is also facing defamation lawsuits from voting companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic about fraud claims he made about the 2020 election.

Persons: Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump, Giuliani, Moss, Ruby Freeman, Freeman, Ted Goodman, Michael Gottlieb, Trump, Bob Costello, Dominion's, Jacqueline Thomsen, David Bario, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Voting Systems, Thomson Locations: Georgia, Washington, litigating, New York, Manhattan, York, Columbia

A person familiar with the matter said he was Rajaratnam, who was sentenced in 2011 to 11 years in prison and was released early in 2019. Starting in 2018, Tidwell began receiving undisclosed benefits from Rajaratnam and a close friend and business associate of Rajaratnam, according to charging papers and the person familiar with the matter. Later, after Rajaratnam was released from prison, Tidwell in 2020 received a $50,000 loan from the onetime inmate's friend to buy a house. Prosecutors said he lied on a bank loan application about the source of that money. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by David Bario and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Raj Rajaratnam, William Tidwell, Rajaratnam, Prosecutors, Goldman Sachs, Tidwell, Samidh Guha, Rajaratnam's, Brad Bailey, Nate Raymond, David Bario, Chris Reese Organizations: eBay, Galleon Group, Federal Medical Center Devens, Google, Thomson Locations: BOSTON, Massachusetts, Boston, Ayer , Massachusetts, York

A spokesperson for Covington said the firm will "review the decision carefully and consider any next steps in consultation with our affected clients." Any final outcome could make it easier for the government to get information on law firm clients in the future, and law firms warn it could chill cooperation between the private sector and authorities investigating cyberattacks. The SEC had sought the names of all the nearly 300 companies affected, but Covington resisted identifying any clients. The agency said it needed the names to probe for securities law violations associated with the attack, arguing that Covington’s law firm status did not shield it from cooperating. Covington told the court a law firm’s clients are part of a “zone of privacy” protected by the U.S. Constitution and legal ethics rules.

Persons: Burling, Judge Amit Mehta, Covington, cyberattacks, Mehta, Andrew Goudsward, David Bario, Susan Heavey Organizations: Covington, Burling, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, U.S, SEC, Circuit U.S, of, Thomson Locations: Covington, Washington

July 24 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O) violated a software developer's patent rights with its remote-streaming technology and must pay $338.7 million in damages, a federal jury in Waco, Texas decided on Friday. The jury found that Google's Chromecast and other devices infringe patents owned by Touchstream Technologies related to streaming videos from one screen to another, a court representative said on Monday. According to the complaint, Google met with Touchstream about its technology in December 2011 but said it was not interested two months later. Touchstream said that Google's Chromecast copied its innovations and infringed three of its patents. It also said its patents were infringed by Google's Home and Nest smart speakers and third-party televisions and speakers with Chromecast capabilities.

Persons: Jose Castaneda, Touchstream, David Strober, Blake Brittain, David Bario, Grant McCool Organizations: Google, Touchstream Technologies, New, Google's, Comcast, Thomson Locations: Waco , Texas, New York, Altice, Texas, Washington

☆ Trump's lawyers to appear in Florida court in classified documents case
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Andrew Goudsward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 18 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's lawyers are due in court in Florida on Tuesday for a hearing in which a federal judge will begin to consider how to hold a trial of the former U.S. president on charges of mishandling classified documents without publicly exposing top secret information. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland last year. Among the logistical issues Trump's lawyers and prosecutors are expected to discuss are deadlines for prosecutors to turn over classified documents that may be used as evidence and the timing for when Trump's lawyers must notify the government whether he intends to use classified documents to defend himself against the charges. The charges against Trump include violations of the Espionage Act, which criminalizes unauthorized possession of defense information. The defense has sought an indefinite delay, citing among other factors the rigors of Trump's campaign schedule.

Persons: Donald Trump's, Trump, Joe Biden, Jack Smith, General Merrick Garland, Aileen Cannon, Biden, Cannon, Cannon's, Andrew Goudsward, Will Dunham, David Bario Organizations: Republican, Democratic, U.S, Trump, FBI, Trump's, Thomson Locations: Florida, Fort Pierce, U.S, Lago, Palm Beach

July 18 (Reuters) - Yum Brands' (YUM.N) Taco Bell prevailed on Tuesday in its self-described bid to "liberate" the phrase "Taco Tuesday," as competing fast-food chain Taco John's told the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) it would abandon its federal "Taco Tuesday" trademark. Taco Bell had asked the USPTO in May to cancel the trademark, calling it a common phrase that Taco John's had monopolized unfairly in the restaurant industry. Representatives for Taco Bell did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Tuesday filing. A separate Taco Bell challenge to that trademark is still pending. Taco John's told the USPTO last month that Taco Bell was only seeking to sell more tacos, and that its mark did not prohibit anyone "from advertising and selling tacos on Tuesday."

Persons: Taco Bell, John's, Taco John, Jim Creel, Taco John's, Gregory Gregory, Taco, Blake Brittain, David Bario, David Holmes Organizations: Brands, U.S . Patent, Office, Yum Brands, Taco, Gregory's, Bell, Reuters, Taco Bell, USPTO, Thomson Locations: Taco, Cheyenne , Wyoming, U.S, New Jersey, Somers Point, Washington ,

The D.C. panel found that Giuliani made sweeping claims of voter fraud that he did not have evidence to support. “We are obviously disappointed with the committee’s recommendation but look forward to filing a vigorous appeal to the Board on Professional Responsibility and the court," said Giuliani lawyer Barry Kamins. The committee’s recommendation will now be considered by the full D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility, which oversees attorney discipline cases in Washington, D.C. The D.C. Court of Appeals will make the final decision on whether Giuliani should be disbarred. Trump put Giuliani in charge of the legal strategy to challenge the results of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.

Persons: Rudy Giuliani's, Donald Trump, Giuliani, ” Giuliani, Barry Kamins, Trump, Democrat Joe Biden, Andrew Goudsward, David Bario, Leslie Adler Organizations: Columbia, Trade, Board, Washington , D.C, Democrat, Republican, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, Pennsylvania, Washington ,

Massachusetts-based writers Paul Tremblay and Mona Awad said ChatGPT mined data copied from thousands of books without permission, infringing the authors' copyrights. Several legal challenges have been filed over material used to train cutting-edge AI systems. ChatGPT and other generative AI systems create content using large amounts of data scraped from the internet. Tremblay and Awad's lawsuit said books are a "key ingredient" because they offer the "best examples of high-quality longform writing." The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of money damages on behalf of a nationwide class of copyright owners whose works OpenAI allegedly misused.

Persons: OpenAI, Paul Tremblay, Mona Awad, Matthew Butterick, Microsoft's, ChatGPT, Tremblay, Awad, Blake Brittain, David Bario, Richard Chang Organizations: OpenAI, Microsoft Corp, Stability, Thomson Locations: San Francisco federal, . Massachusetts, Washington

Law Firms Fenwick & West LLP FollowJune 28 (Reuters) - Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX sued one of its former top lawyers, accusing him of aiding fraud by company founder Sam Bankman-Fried and silencing whistleblowers who reported wrongdoing at the company. A lawyer for Friedberg and a spokesperson for FTX did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Bankman-Fried has been criminally charged in federal court in Manhattan with stealing billions in FTX customer funds to plug holes at the Alameda hedge fund and fund speculative investments. Friedberg served as an adviser to Bankman-Fried and his companies while working at law firm Fenwick & West. He became an in-house attorney at both FTX and Alameda in 2020.

Persons: FTX, Sam Bankman, Daniel Friedberg, Friedberg, cryptocurrency Friedberg, Bankman, Fried, Fenwick, Andrew Goudsward, David Bario Organizations: Fenwick, Bankruptcy, Alameda Research, Friedberg, FTX, Reuters, West, Thomson Locations: Delaware, FTX, Alameda, Manhattan, U.S

June 20 (Reuters) - Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, has agreed to plead guilty to two tax charges and enter an agreement that may allow him to avoid a conviction on a firearm offense, according to court filings on Tuesday. WILLFUL FAILURE TO PAY FEDERAL INCOME TAXHunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax, according to court papers. He is charged with twice failing to pay over $100,000 in income tax. The amounts stem from over $1.5 million in taxable income Biden received in 2017 and again in 2018, according to the court papers. Biden is entering a pretrial diversion agreement on the firearm charge, prosecutors said in a letter to the court on Tuesday.

Persons: Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, Biden, Jacqueline Thomsen, David Bario, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S . Navy Reserve, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington

Law Firms Duane Morris LLP FollowJune 20 (Reuters) - David Weiss, the top federal prosecutor in Delaware, wrapped up the most closely watched investigation of his career on Tuesday when U.S. President Joe Biden’s son Hunter agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax crimes. Weiss, 67, who was appointed to his post by Republican then-President Donald Trump, agreed to stay on the job into the Biden administration to complete a long-running probe into Hunter Biden’s finances. Hunter Biden, 53, agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes and reached an agreement on a gun-related offense that could allow him to avoid a conviction, according to court filings. “I don’t think he’s thinking about the politics at all,” said Thomas Ostrander, who worked with Weiss at law firm Duane Morris. Weiss was nominated to be U.S. attorney in Delaware by Trump in 2018 with the support of Delaware’s two Democratic U.S. senators.

Persons: Duane Morris, David Weiss, Joe Biden’s, Hunter, Weiss, Donald Trump, Biden, Hunter Biden, “, ”, Thomas Ostrander, “ He’s, James Comer, General Merrick Garland, Obama, Weiss ’, Anne Marie Fahey, Delaware's, Ostrander, Delaware’s, Christopher Tigani, Andrew Goudsward, David Bario, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Republican, Democratic, U.S, Trump, Democratic U.S, Reuters, Politico, Wilmington Trust, Prosecutors, Thomson Locations: Delaware, China

☆ Senate confirms abortion rights lawyer to US appeals court
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Andrew Goudsward | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 20 (Reuters) - A lawyer who argued on the losing side of the U.S. Supreme Court case that ended the national right to abortion won confirmation on Tuesday to a seat on a federal appeals court. The U.S. Senate confirmed Julie Rikelman, a top lawyer for the Center for Reproductive Rights, to the Boston-based 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals by a vote of 51-43. Rikelman represented Mississippi's last remaining abortion clinic in urging the Supreme Court to reaffirm the constitutional right to abortion and strike down a state law that banned the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Rikelman's nomination drew opposition from Republicans, who questioned her abortion rights advocacy during a September 2022 Senate hearing and described her position on the issue as extreme. She is Biden’s third nominee to secure a seat on the court, whose active judges were all nominated by Democrats.

Persons: Julie Rikelman, Susan Collins of, Lisa Murkowski, Rikelman, Dobbs, Joe Biden, Biden, Rikelman's, Andrew Goudsward, David Bario Organizations: U.S, Supreme, U.S . Senate, Center for Reproductive, Circuit U.S, Jackson, Health Organization, Republicans, Center for Reproductive Rights, Thomson Locations: Boston, Susan Collins of Maine, Alaska, Mississippi's, New York

June 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday narrowly confirmed civil rights lawyer Nusrat Choudhury to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, making her the first Bangladeshi-American and female Muslim federal judge in the United States. Choudhury, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Illinois, was confirmed on a 50-49 vote. She will also be the first Bangladeshi-American federal judge. Biden also appointed the first Muslim judge in U.S. history, U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi. The Senate confirmed him to the New Jersey federal trial court in 2021.

Persons: Nusrat Choudhury, Choudhury, Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, litigator, Biden, Zahid Quraishi, Jacqueline Thomsen, David Bario, Aurora Ellis Organizations: U.S, Senate, Eastern, of, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, Top, Republicans, Princeton University, Southern District of, Appeals, Thomson Locations: of New York, United States, Illinois, Southern District, Southern District of New York, New York , Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, Washington

June 14 (Reuters) - A group of 17 music publishers sued Twitter in Nashville, Tennessee, federal court on Wednesday, accusing the company of enabling thousands of copyright violations by allowing users to post music without a license. Twitter drives user engagement with "countless infringing copies of musical compositions," the lawsuit said. Members of the National Music Publishers' Association, including Sony Music Publishing (6758.T), BMG Rights Management and Universal Music Publishing Group (UMG.AS), are seeking more than $250 million in damages for alleged infringement of nearly 1,700 copyrights. Twitter "routinely ignores" repeat infringement by users who post tweets that contain unlicensed music, the lawsuit said. The publishers said Twitter encourages user infringement, which increases engagement and ad revenues while giving it an "unfair advantage" over platforms that pay for music licenses.

Persons: Elon Musk, David Israelite, Musk, Blake Brittain, David Bario, Richard Chang Organizations: Twitter, National Music Publishers ' Association, Sony Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing, Elon, Facebook, YouTube, Thomson Locations: Nashville , Tennessee, Washington

But his defense team is still evolving after at least three key members left in recent weeks. Trump has also sought to add a Florida-based criminal defense lawyer to his team in the days since his indictment, according to sources familiar with the conversations. Kise, a former Florida solicitor general who has primarily handled civil cases, was brought on to Trump’s team last year after the FBI seized classified documents kept at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump has struggled in recent weeks to bolster his defense team as the documents investigation intensified. The day the indictment was unsealed, the pair abruptly announced their resignation from Trump’s legal team.

Persons: Donald Trump, Todd Blanche, Chris Kise, Jim, John Rowley –, Blanche, Kise, Trump, Lindsey Halligan, Rowley, Evan Corcoran, Halligan, Tim Parlatore, Boris Epshteyn, Parlatore, Epshteyn, Trump’s, Andrew Goudsward, Sarah N, Lynch, Jacqueline Thomsen, Karen Freifeld, David Bario, Alistair Bell Organizations: Trump, FBI, Trump's, New, Reuters, U.S . Justice Department, CNN, Epshteyn, Thomson Locations: Miami, Florida, Lago, New York, Manhattan, Epshteyn, Washington

[1/2] Evan Corcoran, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, departs after testifying before a federal grand jury investigating Trump's handling of classified documents, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., March 24, 2023. The shift from lawyer to potential witness in the case is a sharp turn for Corcoran. Trump asked, according to an account by "Trump Attorney 1" detailed in the indictment. The indictment does not identify Corcoran by name, but a source familiar with the situation told Reuters that he is the lawyer listed as "Trump Attorney 1" in the document. Corcoran helped Trump respond to a May 2022 subpoena for all remaining classified documents in his possession.

Persons: Evan Corcoran, Donald Trump, Jonathan Ernst June, Department's, Corcoran, Republican congressman's, Trump, Jack Smith, CORCORAN, UNFLAPPABLE, Douglas Gansler, Steve Bannon, Bannon, Lago, Walt Nauta, Nauta, Andrew Goudsward, David Bario, Howard Goller, Deepa Babington Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, U.S ., Republican, stymie, White, Department, Trump Attorney, Reuters, Trump, Trump . Communications, Democratic, Washington , D.C, Trump White House, U.S . Capitol, FBI, National Archives, Records Administration, Justice Department, Mar, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Corcoran, Lago, Florida, U.S, Democratic Maryland, Washington ,

Aug. 8, 2022: Trump discloses that FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago and broke into a safe in what one of Trump's sons said was part of a federal investigation into retention of records. It shows that 11 sets of classified documents were taken from Trump's property. Nov. 16, 2022: Trump announces he will run for the Republican nomination in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Nov. 20, 2022: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appoints U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith to preside over criminal matters relating to Trump, including the classified documents investigation. December 2022: Trump lawyer Tim Parlatore appears before a federal grand jury in Washington to describe efforts to search Trump properties for any remaining government documents.

Persons: Donald Trump, Callaghan O'Hare, Trump, Trump's, Aileen Cannon, Raymond Dearie, Cannon, General Merrick Garland, Jack Smith, Tim Parlatore, Evan Corcoran, Smith's, Parlatore, Boris Epshteyn, Biden, Jacqueline Thomsen, David Bario, Howard Goller Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Trump's, White, National Archives, Records Administration, U.S . Justice Department, Justice Department, DOJ, Senior U.S, District, Circuit, Trump, Republican, Department, CNN, Thomson Locations: U.S, Mexico, Pharr , Texas, Lago, Florida, Brooklyn, Washington, Miami

Sonos last year won a limited import ban on some Google devices from the ITC, which Google has appealed. Google has countered with its own patent lawsuits in California and at the ITC, accusing Sonos of incorporating the tech company's technology into its smart speakers. The jury found Google infringed one of Sonos' two patents at issue in the trial. A Google spokesperson said on Friday the case was a "narrow dispute about some very specific features that are not commonly used," and that the company was considering its next steps. A Sonos spokesperson said the verdict "re-affirms that Google is a serial infringer of our patent portfolio."

May 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate is expected to vote Thursday on whether to confirm President Joe Biden's nominee to a federal appeals court a day after Senator Joe Manchin became the first one of Biden's fellow Democrats to vote against one of his judicial picks. Her confirmation faced a new obstacle on Wednesday night when Manchin, a moderate Democrat, broke ranks to oppose advancing her nomination. Her nomination advanced Wednesday on a 50-48 vote after two Republican senators did not participate, teeing it up for final consideration by the full Senate. If Manchin again opposes Abudu during the final vote on her confirmation, Vice President Kamala Harris could be called in to break a tie. That court flipped to a majority of Republican-appointed judges under then-President Donald Trump, who picked six of the 11 active judges.

Trademark Office to cancel two smaller rivals' "Taco Tuesday" trademarks in what the largest Mexican fast-food chain in the U.S. called a bid to "liberate the phrase for restaurants nationwide." Taco Bell's petitions said the trademarks, owned by Gregory's Restaurant & Bar in New Jersey and Wyoming-based Taco John's in the rest of the country, wrongly monopolize the use of the phrase in the restaurant industry. "Nobody should have exclusive rights in a common phrase," the petitions said. Representatives for Taco John's, whose "Taco Tuesday" trademark registration dates to 1989, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the petitions. The office last year cited similar reasons for rejecting a brewery's bid for a federal "Taco Tuesday" mark covering beer.

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