Beyonce and Jay Z lose battle to trademark Blue Ivy’s name

Beyonce and Jay Z are used to getting their way. But the celebrity couple lost a trademark battle to protect the name of their firstborn child, Blue Ivy.

Beyonce and Jay Z didn’t want anyone benefitting financially off their kid’s name. They were planning to launch a line of Blue Ivy dolls, t-shirts and coffee mugs and they didn’t want any competition. But the NY patent office sided with a wedding planner who had the Blue Ivy name before Beyonce and Jay Z thought of it.

Beyonce and Jay Z filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office shortly after Blue Ivy was born in January. They filed the application after two complete strangers tried to trademark Blue Ivy’s name.

But Veronica Alexander, who owns Blue Ivy Events planning, worried that the entertainment titans would affect her business if they succeeded in patenting the Blue Ivy name. So Alexander filed her own trademark application.

“My company had been called Blue Ivy since 2008,” said Alexander, 32. “I came up with the name, and if they had won — my business could have been restricted.”

Alexandra, of Boston, MA, says she has no hard feelings toward Beyonce or Jay Z — and she proved it by posting their photo on her website. Alexander is enjoying increased business since Beyonce and Jay Z announced the name of their baby.