Mariah Carey’s attempt to trademark herself as the “Queen of Christmas” has drawn fire from at least two other divas, with one of them filing a declaration in the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Carey’s 1994 song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” continues to hit the Top 40 charts nearly 30 years after its release. In March 2021, she filed an application to trademark the terms “Queen of Christmas”, “QOC”, “Princess of Christmas” and “Christmas Princess” with the USPTO. The application was made public July 12, 2022, starting the period where other parties can file oppositions.

The filing seeks to use the mark on products including audio and video recordings, clothing, fragrances, food and drink products, Christmas tree decorations, face masks and other items.

Variety reported on August 15, 2022, that Carey’s attempt to trademark the term has angered two other performers also known for their work at Christmas time: Darlene Love and Elizabeth Chan.

Love sang several songs on a 1963 compilation album called as A Christmas Gift to You from Phil Spector, including “White Christmas”, “Winter Wonderland” and, perhaps most famously, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, which she sang 28 different times on Late Night with David Letterman and Late Show with David Letterman between 1986 and 2014.

Chan, a singer-songwriter who releases only Christmas music, according to Variety, has filed an opposition through her lawyer, Louis W. Tompros, a Boston-based partner at WilmerHale.

“Christmas has come way before any of us on earth, and hopefully will be around way after any of us on earth,” Chan said, speaking to Variety through her lawyer. “And I feel very strongly that no one person should hold onto anything around Christmas or monopolize it in the way that Mariah seeks to in perpetuity. That’s just not the right thing to do. Christmas is for everyone. It’s meant to be shared; it’s not meant to be owned.

Variety then reported that once Love caught wind of Chan’s opposition, she, too, threatened to engage legal counsel to oppose the application.

“Is it true that Mariah Carey trademarked ‘Queen of Christmas’? What does that mean, that I can’t use that title?” she wrote, according to Variety. “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!”

- Gregory Glass