Beyonce And Jay-Z's Blue Ivy Trademark: An Expert Explains

Couple likely 'trying to protect what they rightfully own or created,' family law expert tells MTV News.
By John Mitchell

<P>Beyoncé</a> and Jay-Z have filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect their month-old baby's name and reserve it for future use, MTV News has confirmed. The superstar couple reportedly sought the trademark to stop the use of Blue Ivy's name by others. </P><P> </P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="vid:725377.id:1676907" width="240" height="211"></div><p> </P><P> </P><P>It's a smart move, according to family law attorney and author Vikki Ziegler. "[Seeking the trademark] forestalls competitors from using the child's name and or third parties from attempting to sell the baby's name back to the couple," Ziegler told MTV News. "They are likely trying to protect what they rightfully own or created, shall we say, by trademarking Blue Ivy's name." </P><P> </P><P>The application to trademark Blue Ivy Carter's name, filed by BGK Trademark Holdings (Beyonc&#233;'s company) is currently pending but will likely be approved because, as the Washington Post reports, parents are legally authorized to trademark the names of their minor children. </P><P> </P><P>"In essence, it's a trademark for a brand, and this brand is expected to be one hot commodity &#8212; just look at Blue Ivy's parents," Ziegler said. "Anyone else that tried to use the name after the trademark was approved could be sued and held liable for damages." </P><P> </P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" id="vid:724613.id:1676907" width="240" height="211"></div><p> </P><P> </P><P>While the Patent Office looks fondly on attempts to trademark the name of one's own child, attempts to do the same with the names of other people's kids are another story, as two designers learned when they sought &#8212; just days after Blue Ivy's birth &#8212; to trademark the baby's name for their own use. </P><P> </P><P>Applications from fashion designer Joseph Mbeh to patent "Blue Ivy Carter NYC" and by an unnamed designer to trademark "Blue Ivy Carter Glory IV" for a fragrance line were denied by the Patent Office, which noted in its decision that the name belonged to a "very famous infant" and consumers would wrongly assume that any products bearing the name had been approved by Beyonc&#233; and Jay-Z. </P><P> </P><P>Ziegler noted that the trademark would "protect against others using the child's name as a brand of merchandise in the same marketplace," so it will not impact the "Blue Ivy" trademark held by a clothing boutique in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. The store filed to trademark <i>its</i> name on January 19, 2011, a year before Queen B and Jay made the name famous. They received approval on August 23 &#8212; five days before Beyoncé announced her pregnancy at the MTV Video Music Awards. </P><P> </P><P><i>What do you think about Beyonc&#233; and Jay-Z trademarking Blue Ivy's name? Let us know in the comments!</i></p>

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Britney Spears In Talks To Judge On ?The X Factor?

Because the next top for her trainwreck express is apparently reality television game shows, Britney Spears is reportedly in talks to be a judge for the upcoming season of The X Factor.  Jason Trawick, Britney Spears? fiancé, is currently negotiating the erratic pop star?s X-Factor contract, which Billboard asserts could be signed as early as [...]

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Run N? Roll

So, ever since I started running a couple of weeks ago I’ve been getting a lot of requests for me to share my running mix playlist. Because iTunes does NOT make it easy to export playlists to any form of readable text, I’ve put off figuring out a way to share my playlist with all [...]

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Los Angeles

I'm here! I'm here! And I saw my first gang-banger get arrested yesterday so I feel like a total Angeleno.

I'm getting ready to go to the gym (again, like a total Angeleno!) so I will update later about my run-ins with Alexander Skarsgard, Pauly Shore, and Jeremy or Jason London (I'm not sure which one it was and seeing if I could force him to do drugs to find out seemed unfair. Besides, as it turned out, he was telling the truth?)

Anyhoo, I've got a lot to tell you about gardening! (Did you know if you get dirt wet it turns into mud? Yuck.)

And bumpers! (They don't bump off anything... they go, "Scraaaaaaaatch!")

And there's probably more but, again, I have to go because I have to get to the gym!

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Vanessa Hudgens & Ashley Benson Rock Bikinis On Set

Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson were spotted shooting a scene that had them hanging out in bikinis, drinking and talking, for their film ‘Spring Breakers.’ Vanessa seemed to be okay hanging out in a bikini (or at least just trying … Continue reading

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'Cabin In The Woods' Cast Talks 'Thrilling' Death Scenes

At South by Southwest film festival, star Jesse Williams says Joss Whedon's horror flick is 'both awesome and terrifying at the same time.'
By Kara Warner


Anna Hutchison and Jesse Williams
Photo: MTV News

What's a horror movie without a few sensational death scenes? One that could be described as less-than-satisfactory by the gung ho gore fans out there. And although there is a lot of secrecy surrounding the action in "The Cabin in the Woods," it is not spoiling anything to say that there might be a gory death or two.

When MTV News caught up with castmembers Anna Hutchison, Jesse Williams and Kristen Connolly at the film's South by Southwest film festival press day, we asked them to describe how the deaths in the Joss Whedon-penned, Drew Goddard-directed film are different from what we've seen onscreen before.

"I think people get connected to the characters, but somehow I find the murders in this film are more thrilling," Williams said. "You know the train wreck effect where you want to look away — something that is both awesome and terrifying at the same time?

"Like, one time I almost touched a shark in the open ocean. I didn't realize it was a shark. 'I'm excited, but I'm going to die.' So, those kind of things happening at once. Anna knows what I'm talking about."

"Well, lose a hand. I don't know about die," Hutchison offered. "It's a bit dramatic."

"She's from New Zealand where it's like playing in the yard for them: 'Go play with the sharks!' " he teased. "I think it's both those things happening at once where you're uniquely thrilled, but you're going to miss that character — but that's not saying that any of us die or don't die in the end."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

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