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Since 2012, Beyoncé has been involved in a dragged-out trademark dispute with Veronica Morales over the name “Blue Ivy”. Blue Ivy is the name of Beyoncé’s first child with rapper and mogul husband, Jay-Z. Veronica Morales, the owner of a successful wedding and event planning business, has been using the Blue Ivy trademark for years. Morales cites Jay-Z’s October 2013 Vanity Fair magazine interview, in which Jay-Z states verbatim, “People wanted to make products based on our child’s name, and you don’t want anybody trying to benefit off your baby’s name. It wasn’t for us to do anything; as you can see, we haven’t done anything.” The interview made it seem as if Beyoncé and Jay-Z sought to file the trademark only “so that no one else could.” As you may or may not know, a trademark application cannot be granted for lack of bona fide good faith intent to use the mark on goods and services. This “trademark squatting” is not allowed by the USPTO.
In newly filed documents in September 2019, Beyoncé argues Blue Ivy has become a “cultural icon” and “[Morales’ claim] that consumers are likely to be confused between a boutique wedding event planning business and Blue Ivy Carter, the daughter of two of the most famous performers in the world, is frivolous and should be refused in its entirety.” Beyoncé further points out her trademark application is for “Blue Ivy Carter” not “Blue Ivy,” adding “the presence of the word ‘CARTER’ ties the commercial impression of Beyoncé’s Mark to the celebrity Blue Ivy Carter rather than Opposer’s [Morales’] regional event planning business.”
The goods and services classes Morales filed for in 2012 are in Class 035 and Class 041 for “Event planning and management for marketing, branding, promotion, and advertising” in addition to “consultation in the field of special event planning for social entertainment purposes.”
The goods and services classes Beyoncé filed for are extremely extensive, including Class 003 for “fragrances, cosmetics, skin care products.” Class 006 for “metal key chains and metal key rings,” Class 009 for “DVDs, CDs, and audio and visual sound recordings featuring musical performances.” Class 012 for “baby carriages, baby strollers.” Class 018 for “bags, namely tote bags, diaper bags.” Other classes include hair accessories, online retail services for music, playing balls, rubber balls, etc.
As of 2018, Morales has filed additional trademark protections for “intent to use” in Class 003, including but not limited to, “fragrances, skin care products, cosmetics, hair care products, table cutlery, cake stands, beverage glassware, baby blankets, hair accessories, namely plastic styling inserts that create height and volume on the crown of the head, party games, and paper garlands.”
Interestingly enough, Beyoncé makes it no secret her hometown is Houston, Texas. In Morales’ most recent trademark application, a Houston address was used to file the application. It’s not clear if there is a strategic reasoning behind using this address.
#TrademarkTuesday
Article by Carissa Chow