Mariah Carey's attempt to trademark 'Queen of Christmas' hits the skids in legal battle with singers
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA: Mariah Carey, 53, first released 'All I Want for Christmas is You' in October 1994 as the first single from her 'Merry Christmas' album Darlene Love, 81, claimed David Letterman crowned her ''Queen of Christmas'' in 1993, a year before Mariah's festive track was released. Love too sang several greatest Christmas pop albums the collection best known as 'Phil Spector’s Christmas Album', back in 1963. Elizabeth Chan, 42, also releases Christmas music exclusively every year and released an album titled 'Queen of Christmas' in 2021. Now Mariah Carey's attempt to trademark the title 'Queen of Christmas' has sparked a legal battle among the singers.
Carey filed a petition to trademark the phrase in March 2021, infuriating prominent holiday singers Love and Chan, who went to court to prevent Carey from claiming the title. On July 12 this year, her petition to trademark the use of 'Queen Of Christmas,' along with 'QOC,' 'Princess of Christmas,' and 'Christmas Princess,' was made public. However, on Friday, August 9, Chan's attorney Louis W Tompros filed a formal declaration of opposition to Carey's trademark petition, Variety reported.
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Chan and her lawyer spoke to Variety over the trademark trial last week. “Christmas has come way before any of us on earth, and hopefully will be around way after any of us on earth", Chan said. “And I feel very strongly that no one person should hold onto anything around Christmas or monopolize it in the way that Mariah seeks to in perpetuity. That’s just not the right thing to do. Christmas is for everyone. It’s meant to be shared; it’s not meant to be owned."
“And it’s not just about the music business,” Chan continued. “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.”
Love learned of Chan's possible court battle with Carey and expressed her own outrage over the pop star's attempt to legally own the term on Monday, August 15. She wrote on Facebook, “Is it true that Mariah Carey trademarked ‘Queen of Christmas’?” wrote Love. “What does that mean, that I can’t use that title? David Letterman officially declared me the Queen of Christmas 29 years ago, a year before she released ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,’ and at 81 years of age I’m NOT changing anything. I’ve been in the business for 52 years, have earned it and can still hit those notes! If Mariah has a problem call David or my lawyer!!”
Chan was dubbed "Queen of Christmas" in the press before she adopted the moniker and used it as the title of her 2021 album. In 2018, The New Yorker featured her under the headline "The Queen of Christmas." According to the article, Chan is "America's most successful, and possibly the only, full-time Christmas-song singer-slash-composer."
Meanwhile, according to Chan's declaration to the trademark appeals board, Carey has stated in interviews that she does not want the title. Carey resisted it again in an interview conducted in late 2021. Speaking on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, Mariah insisted she never chose the festive moniker herself and explained, ''That was other people, and I just want to humbly say that I don't consider myself that''.
''I'm someone that loves Christmas, that happened to be blessed to write 'All I want For Christmas Is You'. And a lot of other Christmas songs. And let's face it, you know, everybody's faith is what it is. But to me, Mary is the Queen of Christmas'', she said. When asked which Christmas song she preferred, Mariah revealed that her all-time favorite is 'This Christmas' by Donny Hathaway. ''Oh, I could have chosen one of mine, but that's one of the best, ever, greatest ever!'' she exclaimed.