Mariah Carey wants to be officially known as The Queen of Christmas. Not so fast.

It won’t be long before the torture of “All I Want for Christmas is You” begins. In fact, if history is any guide, some radio stations will start flipping to all-Christmas music within about a month.

Mariah Carey, who has made somewhere north of US$60 million on royalties from a song she and her songwriting partner dashed off in about 15 minutes, wants to solidify her reign as the Christmas diva by trademarking the phrase “Queen of Christmas.” The application was filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office in March 2021 but was only made public last month.

Not so fast, Mariah.

Two singers who specialize in Christmas music are fighting this move including one who has filed legal action. Elizabeth Chan, a full-time songwriter who specializes in Christmas music, had previously been dubbed “Queen of Christmas.” I quote from Variety:

“Christmas has come way before any of us on earth, and hopefully will be around way after any of us on earth, says Chan. “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.

“And it’s not just about the music business,” Chan continues. “She’s trying to trademark this in every imaginable way — clothing, liquor products, masks, dog collars — it’s all over the map. If you knit a ‘queen of Christmas’ sweater, you should be able to sell it on Etsy to somebody else so they can buy it for their grandma. It’s crazy — it would have that breadth of registration.”

Meanwhile, Darlene Love, who released “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” back in 1963 and was publicly declared “Queen of Christmas” by David Letterman (she was an annual Xmas guest on his show), has also spoken up against Mariah’s trademark grab.

However, Mariah may have some kind of legal upper hand. According to TMZ, Michael Jackson never tried to copyright “King of Pop,” but others have tried and failed. However, Jacko used the phrase so many times that it became indelibly associated with him. The more Mariah calls herself “Queen of Christmas,” the more it has a chance of sticking even without a formal trademark.

We’ll see what happens.