There’s Only One ‘Queen of Christmas’ and It’s Not Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey’s application to trademark the phrase, “Queen of Christmas,” as well as “Princess Christmas” and “QOC,” (short for Queen of Christmas) was unceremoniously denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The trademark would have given her the legal rights to stop others from using the seasoned title on music, merch, and other holiday and non-holiday themed products.
While Carey’s company, Lotion LLC, applied for the trademark last year, Elizabeth Chan, a fellow festive singer, filed an opposition in August to block Carey from obtaining the registration. Chan, who was dubbed “Queen of Christmas” by The New Yorker in 2018, has criticized the pop artist for attempting to monetize Christmas.
“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,” said Chan in an interview with Variety. “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,” she 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.”
In the end, Carey’s company didn’t respond to Chan’s opposition in time, which means the trademark wasn’t granted. This also means “Princess Christmas” dog collars and “QOC” branded eggnog won’t be on wish lists this year.
