Why Mariah Carey Isn't The Queen of Christmas She Thinks She Is

Mariah Carey's bid to become the "Queen of Christmas" has been denied after a rival singer blocked her bid to trademark the term.

Carey's indelible festive hit "All I Want For Christmas Is You" has been a mainstay of the holiday season for nearly 30 years. The singer herself has made the most recently of the 1994 song's popularity.

The success of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and her festive albums led Carey to try to anoint herself as the "Queen of Christmas," but rival singers Elizabeth Chan and Darlene Love had something to say about that.

Through her company Lotion LLC, Carey applied to the US Patent and Trademark Office to try to trademark the term and the abbreviation "QOC", according to documents seen by the New York Post.

Trademarking the term would have meant that Carey, and her company, would own the term "Queen of Christmas" as intellectual property, and would likely have monetized it. The trademark also would have prevented anyone else from being able to use the term for free.

Singer and entertainer Elizabeth Chan refers to herself as the "Queen of Christmas" on her social-media channels. She is known for singing festive songs all year round, with her previous work including a "10th anniversary" album titled Queen of Christmas.

In a statement after Carey announced her intention, Chan said in a statement why she was so against the move. "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."

Chan added: "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. My goal in taking on this fight was to stand up to trademark bullying, not just to protect myself, but also to protect future Queens of Christmas."

Chan wasn't the only one dismayed at Carey's attempt to make the phrase her brand, as former lead singer of the Blossoms, Darlene Love, explained on Facebook in August.

"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," Love told her fans. "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!!"

After Carey had her request denied by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board on Tuesday, a lawyer representing Chan spoke out against the 53-year-old's actions.

"This was a classic case of trademark bullying," Louis Tompros said in a statement. "We are pleased with the victory, and delighted that we were able to help Elizabeth fight back against Carey's overreaching trademark registrations."

To her credit, Carey has released two Christmas albums and cameo-filled Christmas special on Apple TV+, Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special.

Newsweek has contacted Carey's representatives for further comment.