Is Mariah Carey the ‘Queen of Christmas’? The U.S Patent and Trademark Office says no - here’s why

For years, Mariah Carey has been unofficially referred to as the Queen of Christmas… and it looks like it will stay unofficial as the ‘All I want for Christmas Is You’ singer’s request to trademark the phrase was hastily denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The trademark would have allowed Carey and her team to legally stop others from using the festive title on their sold goods.

Last year Carey’s company, Lotion LLC, applied for the trademarks “Queen of Christmas”, as well as “Princess Christmas” and “QOC”. The diva’s bid to trademark the title was challenged by singer Elizabeth Chan, who makes music specifically for the festive season.

Chan has released 12 Christmas albums to date and was crowned the “Queen of Christmas” by the New Yorker in 2018. “I feel very strongly that no one person should hold onto anything around Christmas or monopolise it in the way that Mariah seeks to in perpetuity,” said Chan in an interview with Variety.

“And it’s not just about the music business, she’s trying to trademark this in every imaginable way — clothing, liquor products, masks, dog collars — it’s all over the map. If you knit a ‘queen of Christmas’ sweater, you should be able to sell it on Etsy to somebody else so they can buy it for their grandma. It’s crazy — it would have that breadth of registration.”

Carey’s company lost the fight after failing to respond in time, regarding Chan’s opposition. This meant that the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled against the pop icon’s request to legally trademark the names on Tuesday (November 15).

“This was a classic case of trademark bullying,’’ said Chan’s attorney Louis Tompros of WilmerHale. We are pleased with the victory, and delighted that we were able to help Elizabeth fight back against Carey’s overreaching trademark registrations.”