‘Queen of Christmas’ crowned by trademark court, and it’s not Mariah Carey
It’s not Christmas until you hear “All I Want for Christmas Is You” but you may be surprised that Mariah Carey is not the “Queen of Christmas” — at least legally she’s not.
That distinction now goes to Elizabeth Chan, People magazine reported — and according to The Washington Post — and anyone else who wants to dub themselves with the title.
Carey had filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, under her company Lotion LLC, in March 2021, to legally market herself as the “Queen of Christmas,” BBC News reported.
The legal move was made public this past July.
That’s when Chan claimed she too is known as the “Queen of Christmas” and her attorney filed a formal declaration of opposition against Carey’s application.
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This week, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled that Carey cannot own the exclusive rights to “Queen of Christmas,” “Princess Christmas” or “QOC.”
The move came after Carey’s legal team attempted to extend the court proceedings but did not file a counter to Chan’s argument, so the trademark application lapsed, the Post reported.
Chan responded to the ruling in a statement, writing, “Christmas is a season of giving, not the season of taking, and it is wrong for an individual to attempt to own and monopolize a nickname like Queen of Christmas for the purposes of abject materialism.”
CBS News reported that Chan is “the world’s only full-time Christmas music recording artist.”
Her page on AllMusic.com lists her genre as holiday along with pop/rock, but all her songs are holiday related.
Chan has released 12 Christmas albums, including her latest, “12 Months of Christmas,” People magazine reported.
She was called “Queen of Christmas” by The New Yorker in 2018, BBC News reported.
Several other artists could also be considered the “Queen of Christmas,” or even “Kings of Christmas,” according to the Post, including:
- Brenda Lee.
- Darlene Love.
- Alicia Keys.
- Nat King Cole.
- Frank Sinatra.
- Elvis Presley.
- Michael Bublé.
Here are some memorable photos of singer Mariah Carey through the years.
1990: Actor Patrick Swayze and singer Mariah Carey share the set of NBC-TV’s "Saturday Night Live" during rehearsal Thursday, Oct. 25, 1990, in New York, in Midtown Manhattan for the broadcast which will feature Swayze as guest host.
1991: Mariah Carey holds her Grammy awards backstage at Radio City Music Hall in New York on Feb. 20, 1991. She won Grammy awards for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female.
1993: Award winning singer Mariah Carey leaves St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York on Saturday, June 5, 1993, following her wedding to Sony Music President Thomas Mottola.
1994: Mariah Carey performs a benefit for the Fresh Air Fund at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York on Thursday, Dec. 8, 1994.
1997: Mariah Carey attends the 1997 MTV Video Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
1998: In this Sept. 10, 1998 file photo, Mariah Carey, left, and Whitney Houston present the award for Best Male Video during the MTV Video Music Awards, in Universal City, Calif.
1999: Mariah Carey arrives at the Essence Awards at Madison Square Garden in New York on April 30, 1999.
2001: Singer Mariah Carey performing onstage on a Swarovski crystal-encrusted motorcycle at the 2001 VH1 Vogue Fashion Awards at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on October 19, 2001.
2002: Singer Mariah Carey performs with Santa Claus on stage during KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball Concert at the Arrowhead Pond on December 19, 2002, in Anaheim, California.
2003: Singer Mariah Carey performs on stage at the halftime celebration during the 2003 NBA All-Star game at Phillips Arena on February 9, 2003, in Atlanta.
2004: Singer Mariah Carey arrives at her Halloween party at Cain on October 31, 2004, in New York City.
2005: Mariah Carey and Jermaine Dupri perform onstage during a taping for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation benefit concert at the Beacon Theater on April 9, 2005, in New York City.
2006: Singer Mariah Carey poses with her Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best R&B Song awards in the press room at the 48th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on February 8, 2006, in Los Angeles.
2007: Singer Mariah Carey appears onstage during BET’s 106 & Park at BET Studios October 22, 2007, in New York City.
2008: Singer Mariah Carey performs at Babylon Court at Hollywood and Highland on July 31, 2008, in Hollywood, California.
2009: Actress/singer Mariah Carey and actor Nick Cannon arrive at the screening of "Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire" during AFI FEST 2009 held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on November 1, 2009, in Hollywood, California.
2010: Singer/actress Mariah Carey arrives at the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 17, 2010, in Beverly Hills, California.
2011: Recording artist Mariah Carey poses at a press conference to announce that she is the new Jenny Craig Brand Ambassador at Four Seasons Hotel New York on November 9, 2011, in New York City.
2012: Mariah Carey and her husband Nick Cannon during their wedding vows renewal ceremony photo call on April 27, 2012, in Paris.
2013: "American Idol" judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj are seen onstage during Fox’s "American Idol 2013" Finale Results Show at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on May 16, 2013, in Los Angeles.
2014: Singer-actress Mariah Carey and TV personality Nick Cannon attend the 20th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 18, 2014, in Los Angeles.
2015: Singer Mariah Carey is honored with Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 5, 2015, in Hollywood, California.
2016: Singer Mariah Carey performs on stage during the 2016 Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola at the Louisiana Superdome on July 2, 2016, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
2017: TV personality Nick Cannon, Moroccan Scott Cannon, singer Mariah Carey and Monroe Cannon at Nickelodeon’s 2017 Kids’ Choice Awards at USC Galen Center on March 11, 2017, in Los Angeles.
2018: Mariah Carey performs onstage during the 2018 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on October 9, 2018, in Los Angeles.
2019: Mariah Carey attends Heidi Klum’s 20th annual Halloween Party presented by Amazon Prime Video and Svedka Vodka at Cathédrale New York on October 31, 2019, in New York City.
2020: Mariah Carey attends the premiere of Tyler Perry’s "A Fall From Grace" at Metrograph on January 13, 2020, in New York City.
Mariah Carey performs onstage during Global Citizen Festival 2022: New York at Central Park on September 24, 2022 in New York City.
