Beyonce and Jay-Z have lost the right to trademark their daughter's name, Blue Ivy. The power couple had filed legal papers to protect their daughter's name soon after her birth in January in order to launch a range of baby products and clothes with her moniker.
But the pair have lost out to a small wedding planner based in Boston who had called her company Blue Ivy in 2009. The ruling from the US Patent and Trademark Office means Beyonce and rapper Jay-Z have no legal right over the name. Veronica Alexandra, the owner of Blue Ivy, found herself up against the powerful couple at the beginning of the year. Days after the birth of their first child together, hip hop mogul Jay-Z and his wife filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office to protect the newborn's name. The move followed two unsuccessful applications from New York based fashion designers who tried to trademark the name. The trademark office denied both filings, saying the name belonged to a "very famous infant " and consumers would falsely assume that the products were approved by the celebrity parents.
But event and wedding planner Alexandra, 32, was forced to file her own application as she feared she could be put out of business if the power celebrity couple were successful. "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," she said. "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." Alexandra has confessed she holds no grudges against the couple and would happily relinquish her rights to the name if the couple were to make her an offer. "If Beyonce and Jay-Z want to buy me out I'd welcome that," she said.
