1. Jay-Z and Beyonce Trademarked their Baby’s Name
Indeed some rumors are true. I am referring about the Jay-Z and Beyonce’s decision to have
their baby’s name: Blue Ivy Carter trademarked. This raised some eyebrows and ask silly question like,
“Will the word “the” or “and” can be trademarked too?” To be honest, my knowledge about this subject
is limited and I have to say that some of the current laws the society is using has its own set of leeway
and scope.
You might find the subject shallow as compared to serious topics such as depuy hip recall
lawsuit, kugel mesh settlement and zimmer hip damages. Those mentioned subjects by the way are
part of the infamous recall on.
The trademarked name tickled my interest. And admittedly Blue Ivy Carter’s parents have no
influence of picking this subject matter.
But here is the thing guys, before Jay-Z and Beyonce decided to trademark their baby’s name,
there are two bold people who tried it first. But the unlucky fellows wererejected by the US Patent and
Trademark Office because of the reason that it is illegal to register a trademark with no legitimate
relation to the parents of the baby. What does it implies? Simply put it this way; you cannot just
trademarked somebody’s name, phrase, word or image without asking their permission. So the first
attempt to trademark the couple’s first born baby was denied.
Meanwhile, Jay-Z and Beyonce’s application was recognized; officially the couple owns the
trademark of “Blue Ivy Carter”. My question would be does it mean that other parents cannot name
their unborn baby as Blue Ivy? Not really. In fact as a parent you can still name your child as Channel,
Nike and McDonalds. Here’s what the law says about it. When you trademark a certain word or phrase it
is limited to a specified category of goods or services. The singer couple registered their daughter’s
name under child or baby products category. Once it is trademarked on that category any baby products
that will be named or labeled with Blue Ivy Carter will not be permitted to operate with a reason that
you would infringe on the copyright. But, you can start a chain of restaurants named as Blue Ivy Carter.
Summing it up, a trademarked word or name is more is less a normal or ordinary word.
Trademark is always associated with the term fair use. What is fair use then? If you want to
quote a book, it is under fair use and the poor author cannot sue you. But if you reprint a book and sell
it, then you are in troubled water. Fair use is the main reason why I am writing this delicate subject
matter and still free from Jay-Z and Beyonce’s wrath. But the moment that I say something foul about
the baby then the parent can file a libel lawsuit against me. I dare not discuss it as it is quite a huge
subject matter.