Beyonce and Jay-Z Trademark 'Blue Ivy Carter,' Stop Others from Cashing In

REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi
Rapper Jay-Z and his wife, singer Beyonce

By Daniel Distant , Christian Post Reporter

February 9, 2012|11:59 am

Beyonce and Jay-Z are trying to trademark "Blue Ivy Carter," which is the name of their month-year-old daughter.

Beyonce and Jay-Z, as the new parents of their first child, decided to file for the trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Jan. 26, only 19 days after Blue Ivy Carter was born, according to The Washington Post.

Though Beyonce, a Grammy Award-winning singer, and Sean Carter or Jay-Z, a hip-hop mogul, know the ins and outs of protecting their intellectual property, they were likely surprised when other folks started trying to cash in on their child's name.

Fashion designer Joseph Mbeh was the first one who thought of profiting off of the famous couple's newborn. He tried to trademark "Blue Ivy Carter NYC" Jan. 11- just four days after she was born in Lennox Hill Hospital.

Although Mbeh was trying to peddle children's dresses, skirts, and underwear specifically, it's almost a certainty that anything with the child's name on it could yield lucrative results.

"You can make a ton of money with t-shirts," Chris Ott, a trademark attorney, told The Post.

Jay-Z made sure of this when he included her name and voice in his song "Glory," which became both the record for youngest artist feature, and garnered over 1.7 million listens, according to Nielsen BDS.

Mbeh wasn't the only one trying to stake claim to baby fame, though. Another unnamed party tried to trademark "Blue Ivy Carter Glory IV" for an upcoming perfume line.

Both offers were denied, with the patent office realizing that the name involved a "very famous infant," and that parents Beyonce and Jay-Z legally had claim to the name they chose.

However, one store has gotten away with the "Blue Ivy" moniker to sell merchandise: a boutique in Sturgeon Bay, Wis. actually filed for "Blue Ivy" Jan. 19. 2011 and was approved nearly eight months later, in August.

It is unknown if the store will keep the name, or if Jay-Z and Beyonce plan to purchase the rights from the contemporary clothing shop.