Mariah Carey loses bid to trademark 'Queen of Christmas'

Mariah Carey is simply a — not the — queen of Christmas, a trademark case suggests.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has denied Carey's application to trademark the phrase "queen of Christmas," per BBC News. She was also denied trademarks of "Princess Christmas" and "QOC."

Carey, who sings the hit song "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and has made her love of Christmas part of her brand, has often been referred to as the "queen of Christmas" in the media. But her effort to trademark this term faced opposition from Elizabeth Chan, who also sings many holiday tunes and has been referred to as "queen of Christmas." In August, Chan filed a declaration of opposition in the case.

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"No one person should hold onto anything around Christmas or monopolize it in the way that Mariah seeks to in perpetuity," Chan said at the time, per Variety. Singer Darlene Love also slammed Carey's move, writing on Facebook, "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."

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied Carey's application after she failed to file an answer to Chan's opposition. In a statement to USA Today, Chan's attorney called this a "classic case of trademark bullying," adding, "We are pleased with the victory, and delighted that we were able to help Elizabeth fight back against Carey's overreaching trademark registrations."

It's been a real "you win some, you lose some" month for Carey, though, as she recently scored a victory in court after a copyright claim against her song "All I Want for Christmas Is You" was dropped.