NEW YORK — All I want for Christmas is you — to call me the “Queen of Christmas.”
A New York musician known for her festive tunes and a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer are blasting “All I Want for Christmas Is You” singer Mariah Carey’s attempt to claim the title of “Queen of Christmas.”
Elizabeth Chan has filed a formal declaration of opposition to Carey’s 2021 trademark on Aug. 11 in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, while Darlene Love is speaking out against the pop diva’s attempt to be the only person who can use the moniker.
“No one should ever own the word ‘Christmas,’ ” Chan told the Daily News. “Christmas is for everyone.”
Tell that to Carey, whose holiday tune “All I Want for Christmas” is played ad nauseam in the lead-up to Christmas.
Carey’s company Lotion LLC last year applied to register the “Queen of Christmas” name as an exclusive brand name for a variety of goods and services, which could include music, videos, eyewear, mobile phones, alcohol, food and beauty products. The “Vision of Love” chanteuse is also reportedly attempting to trademark the term “Princess of Christmas,” as well as “QOC,” “Christmas Queen” and “Christmas Princess.”
Chan’s attorney, Louis W. Tompros, of Boston-based firm WilmerHale, told The News that he took the case pro bono “because of the importance of stopping unfair trademark bullying.”
Chan, who lives in Lower Manhattan, considers herself “pop music’s only full-time Christmas singer” with top 10 singles on the adult contemporary singles chart, including 2020′s “Best Gift Ever” and 2016′s “Ghost of Christmas Past.” She says that even she doesn’t want to keep anyone else from experiencing the magic of the holiday, despite having grown her brand for 11 years.
“Everyone has a right to call whoever they feel is the ‘Queen of Christmas’ ... whether it’s their grandmother or their mom who decorates the house, or, if it’s me, if it’s Mariah, if it’s Darlene Love,” Chan said. “If Christmas is meant to be shared, it’s for everybody. It’s not meant to be owned and monopolized.”
Chan, who has released an album titled “Queen of Christmas,” said the idea to trademark the nickname never crossed her mind.
“Honestly, when you think about the Queen of Pop, it could be Madonna, it could be Britney (Spears), it could be whoever. It’s really giving people the right to use it in the way that they want. And what’s happening now is that she is trying to stop anyone outside of Mariah from using it.”
The legal opposition filing obtained by The News argued that Carey had “candidly admitted” during an interview in December 2021 that she “does not even consider herself the Queen of Christmas.”
Multiple artists had been dubbed that nickname throughout the years, including “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” singer Brenda Lee, the formal legal documents also noted.
Chan is not the only musician angered by Carey’s action.
Love, who belted out “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)” on David Letterman’s late night talk shows from 1986- 2014, took to social media recently to let the world know how she feels.
“Is it true that Mariah Carey trademarked ‘Queen of Christmas’? What does that mean, that I can’t use that title? David Letterman officially declared me the ‘Queen of Christmas’ 29 years ago, a year before she released ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’, and at 81 years of age I’m NOT changing anything. I’ve been in the business for 52 years, have earned it and can still hit those notes!” she wrote on Facebook.
Carey’s company is required to respond to Chan’s opposition or withdraw its trademark application by Sept. 20.
Representatives for Carey did not immediately respond to The News for comment.
Co-written with Walter Afanasieff, “All I Want for Christmas” has topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts for the last four years. Originally released in 1994, the tune is the first holiday song to sell more than 10 million copies in the U.S.
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