Mariah Carey blocked from trademarking "Queen of Christmas"

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Mariah Carey may call herself the Queen of Christmas, but she can't legally prevent others from calling themselves that as well. That's the decision of the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, which has ruled against Mariah's attempts to register the trademarks "Queen of Christmas," "Princess of Christmas" and "QOC."

Elizabeth Chan, the full-time Christmas music artist who's been called the Queen of Christmas for years, is the one who filed to legally block Mariah from owning the exclusive rights to the title. Chan's five-year-old daughter Noelle has been nicknamed the "Princess of Christmas," and now, she can continue to use that name as well.  

“Christmas is a season of giving, not the season of taking, and it is wrong for an individual to attempt to own and monopolize a nickname like Queen of Christmas for the purposes of abject materialism,” Elizabeth said in a statement provided to ABC News. Mariah had applied for the "sole and exclusive rights" to use the trademarks, not just for music, but for everything from perfume to sunglasses to coconut milk.

“As an independent artist...my life’s work is to bring people together for the holiday season, which is how I came to be called the Queen of Christmas," Elizabeth explained. "I wear that title as a badge of honor and with full knowledge that it will be -- and should be -- bestowed on others in the future."

"My goal in taking on this fight was to stand up to trademark bullying not just to protect myself, but also to protect future Queens of Christmas,” she noted. Indeed, when news of Mariah's trademark attempt became public, another artist who's been dubbed The Queen of Christmas, Darlene Loveexpressed her disapproval as well.  

Elizabeth's latest Christmas single, "Merry Merry," is out now.

Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 12:21PM by Andrea Dresdale Permalink