There are a lot of thoughts that come to mind when you think of Christmas. Trees, presents, Santa Claus, and lights to name a few. But what about Christmas music? More specifically, are their specific artists that you associate with Christmas? Mariah Carey seems to think so.
In March 2021, “All I Want For Christmas Is You” singer, Mariah Carey’s legal team, filed a trademark application for “Queen of Christmas”. They are claiming future use for a multitude of goods including fragrances, jewelry, music sound recordings, Christmas stories, Christmas tree decorations, and entertainment services to name a few.
During the trademark application process, applications are made public and any party who believes they will be damaged by the registration of the mark may file a notice of opposition, which is exactly what someone did.
Elizabeth Chan, full-time Christmas songwriter who has been labeled “Queen of Christmas” and has embraced the title since 2014, filed a notice of opposition again Carey’s application. In an interview with Variety, Chan explained she “feel[s] very strongly that no one person should hold onto anything around Christmas or monopolize it in the way that Mariah seeks to in perpetuity.”
Another singer took to Facebook to publicly show her opposition to Carey’s application. Darlene Love, lead singer of The Blossoms and actress wrote, “David Letterman officially declared me the Queen of Christmas 29 years ago, a year before [Carey] released ‘All I want For Christmas Is You'”. Love is referring to when she performed her 1963 Christmas song “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” on David Letterman’s show, yearly, for nearly three decades. She also released “It’s Christmas, Of Course”, her own Christmas album in 2007. However public the statement, it is still unclear if Love has taken any legal action in opposition to Carey’s application. What do you think? Is there really a “Queen of Christmas”? Should Mariah Carey be granted the trademark registration?
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