Beyonce, Jay-Z Lose Blue Ivy Trademark Lawsuit
Beyonce and her husband Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter have lost a battle to trademark their 9-month-old baby's name following a recent ruling made by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The Grammy award-winning singers had filed legal papers to protect the name Blue Ivy after Beyonce gave birth to the couple's first child in January. The lost the lawsuit to a small wedding planner by the name of Veronica Alexandra.
Beyonce, 31, and Jay-Z, 42, had reportedly made plans to create a new range of baby products and clothes under the label Blue Ivy. Doing so would have enabled them to expand their estimated $1 billion empire.
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Alexandra, who has owned her Boston-based business (Blue Ivy) since 2009, was undeterred in filing against the powerful Hollywood couple, as she feared that not doing so could have potentially put her out of business, according to Mail Online.
"My company had been called Blue Ivy since 2009. I came up with the name, and if they had won my business could have been restricted," Alexandra told Mail Online.
"It was important for me to protect the name of my company. We are very successful as wedding planners and wanted to stay that way. Of course Blue Ivy is a lovely name, but I had to make sure that I would be able to continue using it for my business," she explained.
Two New York City-based fashion designers had also attempted to trademark the Blue Ivy moniker. Both filings were eventually denied by the trademark office, who at that time appeared to side with the Carters.
When Alexandra, a Harvard graduate, made her own attempts to protect the unique name, the trademark office investigated her claims and subsequently ruled in her favor.
While she admits that her business was given a boost after Beyonce named her baby Blue Ivy, Alexandra says that she is open to giving up her rights if the price is right.
"Blue is a very powerful color used by many companies and Ivy conjures up a very romantic image. I was very happy with the name, and of course business spiked after Beyoncé called her baby Blue Ivy. We do between 40 and 60 weddings a year," she said. "If Beyoncé and Jay-Z want to buy me out I'd welcome that."
