There is not a holiday season that goes by without hearing Mariah Carrey’s iconic 1994 hit, ‘All I want for Christmas is you’. It may be the unofficial anthem of the holiday season; however, the pop singer certainly is not the ‘Queen of Christmas’, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Carey, through her company Lotion LLC, attempted to trade mark the phrase ‘Queen of Christmas’ along with other titles such as ‘Princess Christmas’ and ‘QOC’. Had the application been successful, there’s no doubt she would have had exclusive rights over the phrase in every possible way. With this trade mark request, she would have been able to commercialise and use the name through various items - being everything from skincare or beauty products, hair products, clothing, whether it be a Christmas sweater for yourself or for your dog to even food products and alcohol.
Through this, Carey’s biggest critic has been Elizabeth Chan, who herself was dubbed the ‘Queen of Christmas’ in 2018 by the New Yorker. Christmas is centered around the idea of sharing; however, Mariah Carey clearly doesn’t intend on sharing that title with anyone else. Chan is well known across the industry for being a Christmas music recording artist, releasing festive records every holiday season for the past decade. Chan, in filing a formal opposition to Carey’s trade mark request, centers around her idea that Carey’s goal to monopolise Christmas in such a way is merely a case of ‘trade mark bullying’.
A trade mark allows for brand protection. Even the simple knitting and selling of a ‘QOC’ or ‘Princess Christmas’ sweater on Etsy would be impossible without getting yourself ready for a possible lawsuit. Such a trade mark would no doubt grant Carey exclusive rights related to licensing and royalties and thus making her products undeniably distinctive from the rest. Even though her music may be synonymous with the holiday season, had she been successful in her trade mark application and registration, Christmas would truly become an official part of her identity. Although Carey’s failed attempt to trade mark the ‘Queen of Christmas’ may seem overreaching, one cannot deny it would have been a more valuable marketing tool than any other to increase her brand and success even more.
Chan, who is an independent artist and business owner, declared herself to be proud to be known as the ‘Queen of Christmas’ and that such a title should be passed on to others as well. Criticism has also come from Darlene Love who is been a staple in Christmas music since the 60’s and herself was once dubbed the ‘Queen of Christmas’.
Despite Carey’s failure to trade mark the phrase, it hasn’t stopped her from yoking up as many Christmas phrases as she can. Only recently she published a fairy-tail based picture book called ‘The Christmas Princess’.
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Disclaimer
This blog provides general information and is not intended as legal advice specific to your circumstances. Please feel free to seek our professional legal advice if you have any questions, concerns and/or queries.
