Queens of the holiday season, Elizabeth Chan and Mariah Carey. Photos: Elizabeth Chan/Instagram, AFP
Singer Mariah Carey’s application to trademark the Queen of Christmas title was unceremoniously denied by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Two other phrases – Princess Christmas and QOC (short for Queen of Christmas) – were also denied for the application filed in March 2021.
The trademark filing was reported in August by CBS News, which prompted other singers to speak out against the pop star of hits such as Emotions (1991), Fantasy (1995) and the holiday staple All I Want For Christmas Is You (1994).
New York-based festive singer-songwriter Elizabeth Chan, 42, who has devoted herself to holiday tunes since 2011, challenged the trademark filings, as she has also been called Queen of Christmas, such as in a 2018 article by The New Yorker.
On Tuesday (Nov 15), after successfully blocking the trademark filing, Chan said in a statement: “Christmas is a season of giving, not the season of taking, and it is wrong for an individual to attempt to own and monopolise a nickname like Queen of Christmas for the purposes of abject materialism.”
The trademark would have given Carey, 53, the legal right to stop others from using the title on music and merchandise.
Chan, who recently released her 12th Christmas album, titled 12 Months Of Christmas, said: “As an independent artist and small business owner, my life’s work is to bring people together for the holiday season, which is how I came to be called the Queen of Christmas.”
She added that she was protecting future Queens of Christmas, saying: “I wear that title as a badge of honour and with full knowledge that it will be – and should be – bestowed on others in the future.”
Another queen of the holiday season, singer Darlene Love, had also spoken out in August.
Known for her 1963 holiday classic, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Love posted on Facebook: “David Letterman officially declared me the Queen of Christmas 29 years ago, a year before (Carey) released All I Want For Christmas Is You, and at 81 years of age, I’m not changing anything.”
She added: “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.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
