(NewsNation) — Mariah Carey’s wish didn’t come true after a federal court sided with singer Elizabeth Chan in blocking Carey’s bid to be the sole “Queen of Christmas.”
Carey” “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” is one of the best-selling Christmas songs of all time, and she wanted to trademark the title so no one else could use it; however, Chan said not so fast.
Chan has 12 original Christmas albums, including one titled “Queen of Christmas,” and believes Christmas shouldn’t belong to a single person.
“Ultimately, the term queen of Christmas is a phrase, and a word that has been used for decades before Mariah Carey even existed. So one, it was the wrong thing to do to trademark something that hasn’t been in the public domain for everyone. And I just happened to be one of the dozens, if not hundreds of people who have used and are known as the “Queen of Christmas.” I mean, literally, there’s Brenda Lee, who I love, Darlene Love, who I also love,” Chan told NewsNation.
In March 2021, Carey applied with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with hopes of legally marketing herself as the sole “Queen of Christmas,” CBS News reported in August.
After the bid was made public in July 2022, fellow singer Chan — who claims she also has ties to the “Queen of Christmas” name, had her attorney, Louis W. Tompros of Boston-based WilmerHale, file a formal declaration of opposition against Carey’s trademark claim.
On Tuesday, Chan announced the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board blocked Carey’s attempt of owning the exclusive rights to the title, along with her attempts to trademark “Princess Christmas” and “QOC,” MSN reported.
Chan said it wasn’t about Carey. For her, it was about ensuring everyone had access to use the phrase.
“Mariah today can still be called the queen of Christmas. I wanted to make sure that everyone else that isn’t Mariah Carey can also do the same.”
“I just wanted to avail her and block her from owning it outrightly in perpetuity, because that would have damaging effects to the way that we’ve all known and loved and celebrated Christmas,” Chan said. “Honestly, the culture that is deemed me the ‘Queen of Christmas’ was the culture that deemed her the ‘Queen of Christmas.’ And if we gave it to her, there would be no other people in the future.”